Cannabis World Mourns Untimely Death of Strain Hunter Franco Loja

Franco Loja
May 20, 1974 – Jan. 2, 2017

We at HIGH TIMES 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 House’s 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 I’ve 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, the Green House Coffeeshop & Seed Company family and the Strain Hunters franchise. I cherish the time I got to spend with him, smoking huge joints and celebrating cannabis freedoms. He joins Jack, Old Ed, Eagle Bill, Brownie Mary, Dr. Mikuriya and so many countless others in the pantheon of marijuana legends we’ve lost to eternity. Our fight to free the flower and the green prisoners continues in their honor!”

Our thoughts are with his friends and family. Rest in Peace Franco Loja from the HIGH TIMES family.