Roots Run Deep: B-Real and Barney’s Farm Redefine Global Cannabis With a Historic Seed Drop

By Honeysuckle Staff | Cover Story, Summer 2025

Photography by: Eitan Miskevich & Pedro Garcia & Staff

In the haze of the '90s, somewhere above a coffee shop in Amsterdam, two legends shared a joint and a vision.

One was a rapper who became a generational voice for cannabis activism—a blunt-smoking prophet in a world still afraid to inhale. The other was a breeder, low-profile but world-renowned, who was quietly engineering the future of the plant from underground grow rooms and European genetics labs.

B-Real of Cypress Hill.Derry Brett of Barney’s Farm.The fire that sparked back then is finally catching light.

This summer, at Mary Jane Berlin 2025, their decades-long friendship officially goes global. Dr. Greenthumb’s and Barney’s Farm are launching a co-branded cannabis seed line—a union of California’s cultural weight and Amsterdam’s botanical brilliance. It’s not just a product drop. It’s a moment. A long-overdue one.

“We always said one day we’d do it right,” B-Real tells Honeysuckle. “And now, finally, the world’s ready.”

Not Just Another Celebrity Deal

In today’s cannabis industry, celebrity tie-ins are almost expected. But this—this is different. There are no middlemen, no licensing shortcuts, no marketing gimmicks wrapped around outsourced flower. What B-Real and Derry have created is a seed-to-soul collaboration.

“This is the most exciting project I’ve ever done with a celebrity,” Derry says. “B-Real isn’t a name we slapped on packaging. He’s in the room. He’s in the grow. He’s been in this longer than most licensed companies have existed.”

He helped select phenos. He toured nurseries. His fingerprint is on the genetics themselves.The first two strains in the Greenthumb’s x Barney’s lineup say everything about their approach:

  • Insane OG, a West Coast legacy cultivar reborn with Barney’s genetic refinement—gas, purple, and power.
  • Cherry Bomb, coming later this year, designed for high terpene production, heady highs, and eye-popping yield.

Both strains will be released through Barney Farm's and protected under international IP frameworks, ensuring authenticity and traceability across all markets. But beyond flavor and yield, it’s about the blueprint. Each drop is backed by IP protections, certified nurseries, and global distribution. No watered-down bootlegs. No anonymous pheno swaps. This is elite cannabis from creators who helped birth the culture.

“We’re protecting this the same way artists protect their masters,” B-Real says. “This is our IP. Our story. Our roots. And we’ve got the backend to match the front,” he adds. “From phenotype registration to nursery exclusives, we’re playing long ball.”

A Friendship Forged in Smoke and Survival

Long before the phrase “legacy operator” became regulatory jargon, B-Real was getting raided in L.A. for growing medicine, while Derry was skirting international law to preserve the future of the plant. They weren’t peers in business—they were brothers in resistance, separated by oceans but united by purpose.

Back in those Amsterdam days, it wasn’t about the market. It wasn’t about timing.

“It was just two guys who loved the plant and respected the hustle,” B-Real says. “And we knew, one day, we’d bring it to the world.”

That “one day” is now.

Their story mirrors cannabis itself: outlawed, misunderstood, underestimated—then, suddenly, at the center of everything. And still, they’ve taken their time.

“This wasn’t about capitalizing,” Derry adds. “It was about completing something we started a long time ago.” “We didn’t raise capital to do this. We raised intention,” B-Real says.

The Global Moment

Berlin couldn’t be a more fitting launchpad. Not just because of its legalization momentum, but because it’s a meeting point—East and West, old world and new market, culture and commerce. From here, the duo plans to scale their drops into Europe, Latin America, Asia, and beyond.

Mary Jane Festival (June 19–22) will host the official launch, with limited-edition seeds, branded gear, immersive experiences, and some surprise appearances teased behind the scenes.

Legacy in Every Seed

Ask B-Real what makes this project special, and he won’t talk about metrics or reach.

“This isn’t for the spreadsheet,” he says. “It’s for the growers, the believers, the people who kept the flame lit.”

In an era of fast cash and fast fades, Greenthumb’s x Barney’s Farm is a slow-burn legacy play—one that values the roots as much as the canopy. It honors the ones who came before, while planting seeds for the next generation.

This isn’t business-as-usual. It’s personal.

Catch the drop: June 19–22, Mary Jane Berlin.Only from Dr. Greenthumb’s and Barney’s Farm.