It was designed to ensure that, were the world ever hit by an apocalyptic scenario, the growth of key crops by humans would still be possible.

But as well as vital stocks of rice, maize, barley, rye, rice and beans, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault — the so-called “Doomsday Vault” in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago — also holds weed. Lots and lots of weed.

But not just any weed; this is some of the safest marijuana on earth.

Within a huge tomb blasted from solid rock and reinforced by concrete, the vault’s seeds are kept at -18 C and further protected by natural permafrost in an “arctic desert,” 1,300 kilometres beyond the Arctic Circle. Further ensuring their safe storage, the site was deliberately picked because it’s at low risk from earthquakes, rising seawater and even political upheaval.

In total, the vault holds seeds from over 4,000 species of plants, specially picked for their resistance to pest attack and disease. Its total seed samples number around 860,000, but it has capacity to hold some five times that.

Where does the vault’s weed come from, and who put it there?

Since the huge vault was built in 2008, it has been stacked with around 40 deposits of marijuana seeds provided by science bodies in Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Poland and more.

In total 17 different countries provided smokeable product, including North Korea.

The vault’s database, first explored by Marijuana.com, doesn’t break down which exact strains of weed are kept among its 39 on lockdown, but eight are listed as hemp, the rest marijuana. In total, the bunker contains some 21,000 types of cannabis seeds.

For more on the bunker and how it’s keeping your food — and weed — safe, see here:

Why are people so scared about losing seeds?

Agriculture depends on a few major crops — perhaps fewer than you think. Wheat, maize and rice alone make up some 60 per cent of what we consume.

Over the past few decades, plant types have been disappearing at alarming rates, and scientists tasked with creating this potentially lifesaver call their stocks the “backup copies.”

They even made a very informative video about it:

The permanent loss of plants and crops, of course, would be devastating to the human race.

But the Doomsday Vault actually stores more cannabis than it does blueberries or raspberries. In other words, if End of Days arrives, it may be easier to get stoned than to get a smoothie.

Want some fresh asparagus? Sorry, there’s less of that than marijuana, too. Artichokes, cranberries, or pears? Sorry, but there’s more pot than all three of those put together.

One warning, though: if you’re in the mood for a smoke as the end of the world nears, you’d better remember what you stashed underground.

Each gene bank that provides seeds still owns what it provided, and only that specific gene bank can remove its own particular seeds.