Aloha, man! You know, some names in the cannabis world deserve special respect and admiration. Today, let’s talk about one shining example: Doctor’s Choice and its incredible breeder Sasha, a.k.a. Joint Doctor, the man behind the first commercial A plant that starts flowering independently of the length of the day. autoflower ↗︎. I deeply respect this company and its contribution to our culture.
Behind our guest is a huge amount of work, passion for his craft, and widely recognized respect. Bro, get ready to dive into the history of this unique company and learn more about the man who changed the game. Ready to take this fascinating journey?
Nice to meet you, Sasha
Sasha Przytyk, known as Joint Doctor, is a longtime Canadian cannabis enthusiast with Polish roots. Today, that event is recognized as a major achievement in our industry. It influenced plant diversity and earned its place in the history of genetic success. Autoflowering plants became an extremely popular new category alongside traditional In photoperiod plants, the change to flowering depends on the length of the day. photoperiod ↗︎ strains.
Of course, beyond his roots, JD also has close professional ties to Poland. That project led to discoveries about plants and their properties that ultimately influenced the creation of the first autoflowering strain.
The hero of our article, widely known among cannabis enthusiasts as Joint Doctor, actually has no medical degree. But considering his contribution to the cannabis world, you could say he deserves the title of “doctor” in this field.
The weather wasn’t playing around: a blizzard was raging on the mountain. That was when Paul uttered the memorable line: “Dude, you’re the Joint Doctor.” It was a defining moment.
Sasha chose the name as his DJ alias. His passion for reggae and parties made him known by that name. And when the time came to write cannabis articles for underground publications, he decided to stay anonymous, using the same alias. Thanks to a unique combination of circumstances, Joint Doctor became a symbol of his passion for cannabis.
Cannabis culture
While police often turned a blind eye to marijuana cases, focusing on harder drugs, Vancouver gradually became an incubator for cannabis.
Working with Marc Emery opened a new door for our hero: writing articles for Cannabis Culture magazine. That was how his writing career in the cannabis world began.
Lowryder’s thorny path
A lot has changed since 2003. But the story was already underway even before that date. Old-school hippies who moved there brought seeds from different corners of the world: Afghanistan, Colombia, and so on.
Among the many seeds and strains exchanged between friends and neighbors, one stood out. Previously known as Willy’s Odd or Willy’s Automatic, this strain was striking for its characteristics: it flowered incredibly early and quickly. Even before anyone understood the plant’s full potential, its uniqueness was obvious.
Among Sasha’s friends was a wise “Mexican Rastaman,” Antonio, who had charm, cannabis knowledge, and, most importantly, a collection of rare seeds.
Antonio had something not everyone did: Mexican Ruderalis. These small plants, flowering and maturing right under the summer sun, were a lifesaver for many.
Picture two friends in a Vancouver apartment, each with his own plants in a room split exactly in half. Christian was organized and methodical; Sasha was impulsive and experimental. That combination sparked ideas and experiments that, as it later turned out, would earn a special place in cannabis history.
But that was only the beginning. Next, Sasha had the opportunity to travel to his ancestral homeland, Poland, to study cannabis.
Then the Doctor moved back to Canada. That was his main job. Alongside it, he was still working on his strains.
Dave and Sasha remain best friends to this day. Dave was a photographer, so much of the information and many of the photos surviving from that time are thanks to him.
The guys were stunned: “What the fuck is this? This isn’t supposed to flower!” They simply started developing buds. But the buddies were really happy about it. In the end, they kept all those plants and practically forgot about everything else.
They didn’t fully understand how it worked: Sasha wasn’t a geneticist and was learning as he went. It turned out to be a recessive trait that had to be fixed. The name Lowryder didn’t exist yet. The strain was called Auto Willey.
A little later, they decided to call it “Lowryder.” The idea came while Sasha was reading Lowrider, a magazine about cars, because the plants had Mexican ancestors. The guys just added a “y” to avoid violating copyright.
So it all started small. The internet was only beginning to play an important role in society. To spread the word about Lowryder, Sasha was active on many forums. I don’t know if you’ve heard of sites like overgrow.com and Hybrid. The Doctor ran the latter. It was something like a place where everyone talked about autoflowers. The idea spread like wildfire.
Stability above all!
It really had the flavor of William’s Wonder. The plants were fairly robust.
Some of their plants were too small. A few were even freaks. So Sasha decided to create new versions, introducing new genetics. That’s how Diesel Ryder and Chronic Ryder came about.
And, of course, when we talk about Lowryder, most people probably know and try Lowryder 2, because it became one of the most successful strains of all time. And its flavor was simply amazing.
It was fairly popular at the time. Not very well known, but it really was an elite genetic strain. The fresh blood introduced into Lowryder 2 was much stronger, more stable, and larger. This was the strain that became one of the most popular of its time.
The guys began releasing feminized strains. It did take several years to figure out feminization, though. And yes, all of this was happening on the black market at the time. How else?
A licensed product and recognition
Everything changed when Sasha finally got a medical license. He was able to set his fears aside and step things up. It allowed him to serve several patients.
Gradually, people came to know him. Not necessarily personally, but Sasha developed a reputation. He met people he had once looked up to: Simon from Serious Seeds, Soma from Sacred Seeds, and other old-school breeders. But Sasha wanted to keep improving. There was plenty of work ahead.
Eventually, Lowryder was recognized as the first 100% autoflowering strain, and Joint Doctor was dubbed the “Father of Autoflowers.” Today, autoflowering strains, widely used by seed banks, make up about 40% of the European seed market.
Doctor’s Choice: Sasha’s current project
Joint Doctor’s skill did not go unnoticed, and our hero was brought into various projects. In 2018, Sublime Culture Inc. signed a consulting agreement under which Sasha served as master breeder at Sublime’s facility in Laval, Quebec.
Today, Sasha Przytyk’s main focus is developing Doctor’s Choice. He has devoted an enormous amount of time to building this business and achieving its current success. The company’s name reflects Sasha’s deep knowledge of the field.
But his true desire is not just to provide a good product, but to inspire others. The Doctor and Co. seek to share their knowledge, teach the cannabis community to create its own masterpieces, and contribute to the diversity and development of this wonderful culture.
They see their mission as both creating new, unique strains and supporting the entire community of cannabis enthusiasts.
I hope this story gives you new insights into the difficult but important work in our field. Maybe you’ll find some motivation in it, or even spark the idea of following your own path as a breeder. And, as always, I’m waiting for your feedback, suggestions, and shared experience in the DZAGI thread.
Sources: publicly available publications about the company and the strain.
