Ben Dronkers is a Dutch businessman who made his fortune in the cannabis industry. He owns the brands Sensi Seed, HempFlax, and the Marijuana and Hemp Museum in Amsterdam.
Ben Dronkers made his fortune, just like Marc Emery, by opening cannabis seed shops. Having long enjoyed a virtual monopoly, he said in Capital that “98% of cannabis strains in Europe come from its stores.”
Ben began making clothes from hemp fiber to create unique garments. During his travels in the Middle East, where hemp grows naturally, he also became interested in cannabis. He obtained seeds from farmers in Pakistan—from high-yielding varieties—which sparked his fascination with cannabis seeds. In 1985, he founded the “Sensi Seed Club” and began creating hybrids. By crossbreeding strains from America with those he had collected during his travels, Ben Dronkers improved and diversified his cannabis varieties. He merged his company with another seed bank to achieve even greater diversity. The budding entrepreneur then turned his attention to Amsterdam's coffee shops to sell his homemade hybrid weed. At “Prix d'Ami” and “Happy Family” coffeeshops, his weed is flying off the shelves.
He has been arrested numerous times for selling and possessing marijuana. He then took advantage of a legal loophole regarding cannabis seeds to launch his 100% legal business. The trick is to grow marijuana for the sole purpose of saving the seeds. No charges will be brought against him.
Since entering the seed business, he has been developing his own strains at home. By preserving parent strains over several years, he is able to mix and remix his strains over time.
Currently, Sensi Seeds is one of the biggest sponsors of all cannabis-related activities. From Expogrow to Fifth Symposium on the Medical Use of CannabinoidsSensi Seeds is everywhere. The company is positioned to serve both the medical and recreational markets. This strategy is bound to pay off, as the number of home growers is skyrocketing and the global cannabis market is becoming increasingly liberalized.
Ben Dronkers also founded the Marijuana and Hemp Museum, where he exhibits works of art and highlights the historical uses of cannabis. In 2008, a second museum called the Museum Gallery opened. There, he exhibits paintings by Dutch artists depicting the use of hemp or cannabis. For example, visitors can see a 16th-century painting of a person smoking hemp while drinking a beer.
In 1994, he founded Hempflax and revived the industrial hemp industry in the Netherlands, then began exporting throughout Europe. Today, Hempflax is Europe’s leading hemp distributor.
Ben Dronkers is passionate about the plant, its properties, and its effects. He believes in a unique sense of community among cannabis users around the world, who, in his view, form a community of their own.
Ben Dronkers passed on his passion and his businesses to his children, including Alan Dronkers, Gio Dronkers, and Ravi Dronkers.
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