Franco Loja
May 20, 1974 Jan. 2, 2017
We at HIGHTIMES are deeply saddened at the news of the passing of Franco Loja of the Green House Coffeeshop & Seed Company, as well as the acclaimed Strain Hunters video series. He was the breeder, partner and right-hand-man to GH owner Arjan Roskam for almost 20 years and a vastly important part of the Amsterdam cannabis scene and the entire marijuana community around the world.
Franco spent a lot of time on stage at our Cannabis Cups collecting award after award for Green Houses exceptional flowers and hashish. The joints he rolled and the parties he helped to throw are legendary to anyone who attended the events.
We are told that he contracted malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while researching the benefits of CBD (cannabidiol) in the treatment of that very disease. Franco was just 42 years old.
Senior Cultivation Editor Danny Danko said:Franco was one of the most welcoming and kind individuals Ive ever encountered. From the first time I met him in Amsterdam many years ago at the Cannabis Cup, to the last time I saw him, many Cannabis Cups later in Jamaica, he was always the same amazingly upbeat and giving person. Enthusiastic for cannabis in a way that made you want to smile proudly. And his proud smile is in every photo I see of him. My condolences go out to his family ...
