By Marieke van Haaster, MSc. Cannabis Researcher

When people talk about Cannabis and intimacy, the conversation often drifts into anecdote: a shared moment, a relaxed body, a subtle shift in mood. Stories about “chemistry in the bedroom” are as old as Cannabis culture itself. But every now and then, a story emerges that sits at the fascinating intersection of folklore and science.

One such story belongs to MGC 1006, a historic Cannabis cultivar with a reputation that stretches back long before strain reviews and social media recommendations.

A Cultivar Born in the Early Medical Era

Back in the 1990s, long before modern Cannabis branding, an ambitious Dutch breeding program at MariPharm set out to identify Cannabis cultivars with consistent therapeutic value.

Thousands of plants were screened, evaluated, and selected for safety, stability, and potential medical benefit. From this extensive breeding effort, a small number of standardized cultivars were chosen to be distributed through pharmacies in the Netherlands on physician prescription, one of the earliest regulated medical Cannabis programs.

Among These Selections Was MGC 1006

Over the years, patient feedback began revealing something unusual. Among the many therapeutic observations reported by patients and physicians, one recurring theme kept surfacing: users described a noticeable increase in sensual awareness, intimacy, and libido when using this particular cultivar.

Long before anyone coined the phrase “Cannabis for connection,” patients had already found their favorite cultivar for enhancing bedroom balance.

Of course, anecdotes, even when repeated over decades, remain anecdotes. But sometimes anecdotes are exactly where scientific curiosity begins.

When Worms Entered the Story

Years later, our research group revisited MGC 1006 as part of a pre-clinical screening program exploring the biological effects of different Cannabis cultivars.

Instead of humans, however, we turned to a far smaller, but surprisingly powerful, research model: Caenorhabditis elegans.

These microscopic nematodes are a cornerstone of modern biology. Despite their simplicity, they share many conserved biological pathways with humans and are widely used to study development, aging, metabolism, and reproduction in highly controlled laboratory environments.

During one of our blinded screening experiments, a laboratory technician paused while observing the worms under the microscope and made a spontaneous comment:

“Whatever this sample is… these worms are very busy.”

She wasn’t exaggerating.

The worms exposed to that particular Cannabis extract were producing an extraordinary number of eggs, far more than any other group in the experiment.

A Surprisingly Consistent Reproductive Effect

When the samples were unblinded, the extract responsible turned out to be MGC 1006.

Naturally, the first response in any laboratory is skepticism. Perhaps it was a measurement error, an environmental fluctuation, or simply statistical noise.

So we repeated the experiment.

And then we repeated it again.

Across multiple trials, the same pattern consistently emerged: worms exposed to MGC 1006 extracts produced significantly more eggs and offspring than worms exposed to any other Cannabis cultivar in the screening panel.

To ensure robustness, we also tested extracts prepared using different extraction methods. Each time, the reproductive effect persisted.

Then came an even more surprising twist.

Beyond Cannabinoids

To better understand the mechanism, we fractionated the extract and removed the cannabinoids, compounds typically considered the primary active ingredients in Cannabis.

Remarkably, the reproductive effect remained (van Es et al, 2022).

This indicated that the phenomenon was likely driven by non-cannabinoid components of the plant, consisting of other compounds that are still poorly understood.

For researchers, this was a fascinating reminder of something the Cannabis plant has been quietly teaching us for decades: its biological complexity extends far beyond the well-known cannabinoids.

When Science Meets Folklore

Now, does increased egg-laying in microscopic worms translate directly to human libido?

Of course not. Model organisms are tools for biological discovery, not predictors of bedroom behavior.

Still, the coincidence is difficult to ignore.

A cultivar historically associated, through decades of patient experience, with increased sensuality and libido also happens to produce the most pronounced reproductive signal in our C. elegans screening system.

Whether this overlap is purely poetic or hints at deeper biological mechanisms remains an open question. But it certainly made for one of the more memorable moments in our research program.

The Value of Old Cultivars

In today’s Cannabis industry, novelty often takes center stage, new hybrids, new cannabinoid ratios, new marketing names.

Yet cultivars like MGC 1006 remind us of the importance of long-standing genetic lines with decades of real-world human experience behind them.

When historical plant breeding, patient observations, and modern scientific tools come together, unexpected insights can emerge.

Sometimes the plants we think we already understand still have a few surprises left.

And occasionally, those surprises appear in the form of a worm nursery full of extra eggs.

Interested in Learning More?

For those interested in learning more about MGC 1006, its history, or potential research and commercial applications, additional information is available upon request.

The cultivar is also available for licensing and research collaborations. Please feel free to contact the author directly for further details at [email protected]

References

1. van Es-Remers M, Spadaro JA, Poppelaars E, Kim HK, van Haaster M, de Wit M, ILiopoulou E, Wildwater M, Korthout H. C. elegans as a test system to study relevant compounds that contribute to the specific health-related effects of different cannabis varieties. J Cannabis Res. 2022 Oct 3;4(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s42238-022-00162-9. PMID: 36184617; PMCID: PMC9528106.

About Marieke van Haaster:

Marieke van Haaster is a researcher and business developer specializing in the intersection of cannabis science and plant-based therapeutics. She focuses on bridging traditional breeding knowledge with modern biotechnology. Her work explores the biological mechanisms behind plant compounds and their role in human wellbeing and connection.

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