There’s a certain kind of consumer who knows his weed like sommeliers know wine. Tim Hoebee is that kind of guy—and then some. He's not just a cannabis connoisseur, he's a cultural translator, genetic hunter, and global ambassador for Sensi Seeds, the legendary Amsterdam seed bank founded by Ben Dronkers.

In the world of European cannabis, where progress and prohibition perform a decades-long waltz, Hoebee stands out as both a product and a steward of the culture. "You are the weediest person I know," he laughs, citing the unofficial title bestowed upon him by Sensi’s leadership. And it’s not just a joke—Tim’s day job is handling community management and social media, but his real value lies in bridging old-school knowledge with the new wave of global cannabis expression.

You’ll find him in grow facilities and at global weed expos, selecting strains and testing flower like a DJ flipping through vinyl. "Well, a lot of Sensi stuff that I have access to. It's also sometimes stuff that I test out from other places. And I also have some buddies who in the cannabis community do coffee shop flower. And I have one particularly called Dream Bros that I really like at the moment. They have a line of strains that Kosher Dreams and Dreams Gold, which are really great in this area. They've been winning a lot of prizes, and they're in my local coffee shop right around the corner."

Hoebee’s curiosity isn’t confined to Amsterdam. A recent trip to Hawaii doubled as a honeymoon and a pheno hunt. Now those island genetics are being run through the Sensi facilities, part of a new era that mixes legendary European archives with fresh global terpene profiles. "We're running some of those in our facilities now, and that's what we're really now hunting, hunting through, which is my favorite stuff... They have such a huge archive of Sensi. So you go through the vault and you see this stuff. They have this huge Russian collection, and it's always fun to try out new things."

But evolution in the Netherlands has never been simple. From the outside, Amsterdam seems like the cannabis capital of Europe, a chill utopia of coffee shops and open consumption. The truth, Hoebee explains, is more complicated. "Yeah. First of all, it's still illegal. That's it. It's a tolerance policy that was temporary for over 45 years now, I think."

In other words: legal to buy, illegal to grow. Coffee shops can stock 500 grams, but the grower who supplies them? Risking jail. "Yeah, it's not a chill situation for the coffee shop owners... [supply] So the cops are hunting it and the criminals are hunting it."

For someone like Hoebee, whose love for cannabis is both professional and spiritual, it’s maddening. He lights up when he talks about the ritual of smoking flower—"Sometimes I just think it needs fire. Right. It's almost something spiritual with cannabis that sometimes you just need to burn it, get that thickness in."

That pivot led him to Sensi, starting humbly on the museum floor, selling tickets and manning the register. But when it was quiet, he’d grab the audio tour, learning the deep history of Dronkers’ travels and cannabis’s global legacy. "That's when it really, the light bulb started burning from, now, this is something I want to spend the rest of my life with. I believe in this plant. I believe in Ben's dream."

Germany’s legalization, he believes, might pressure the Dutch to catch up. "For some reason, we were the most progressive in the eighties, are now one of the least progressive in the 2020’s."

And when it does, Hoebee will still be there—somewhere between the vaults of rare genetics and the late-night smoke sessions. Maybe watching Goldfinger for the hundredth time.

Because if there’s one thing you should know about Tim Hoebee, it’s this: He’s a Bond guy. A real one. "James Bond is very, very special to me... it was one of the things that my dad and me shared."

His favorite Bond? Connery. His favorite movie? Goldfinger. But when he and his dad used to sit down and listen to those lush, orchestral intros over the crackle of a vinyl needle, it wasn’t just about spy gadgets or Aston Martins. It was about tradition. Ritual. Legacy.

Just like his work with cannabis.

In a country where legality remains a question mark, Hoebee is a cultural constant. A keeper of the flame—and sometimes, a little hash on top.

Read about Tim in our current print edition that debuted at Mary Jane Berlin!

For more about Sensi Seeds, visit sensiseeds.com and @sensiseeds.official on Instagram; and Tim Hobee