A company called “Strain Genie” claims to be able to analyze your DNA and tell you how cannabis will affect you. You may get information on how well you metabolize CBD as well as suggestions as to which terpenes you might most benefit from. You don’t need to use marijuana to benefit from this. Many of the results are relevant to hemp/CBD users as well.

If you have used another service to analyze your DNA in the past you can save money and upload your raw data from that service to Strain Genie. If not, you can pay a lot more to spit into a tube and send it back to them. As I am writing this the costs are $150 if you send them your saliva or $30 if you upload your 23andMe raw data.

I had already tested my DNA through 23 and Me, so I opted for the $30 plan. The report I got is awfully close to the sample report that they show on their site. My results were a little more confusing, though. Take these two sections:

Apparently I have a gene that slows the metabolism of substances like CBD, and I also have a gene that results in my breaking down CBD especially quickly. What happens when these genes fight it out? This information was not particularly helpful for me – since it seems like a wash. They did modify their recommendations about what cannabis products I should choose. They stated “Edibles Warnings Found! Based on these results, we will not recommend any edible products (including tinctures) below.” What they did recommend are THC products that are also high in CBD, even though they knew that I live in an illegal state.

Strain Genie seems to be part of the same company as Woahstork, a cannabis delivery service. This service appears to be available in selected states only. I’m not sure how closely Strain Genie’s recommendations match up with Woahstork’s selection of products, but Strain Genie pushes you pretty hard to sign up for the other service as well.

Is it worth it? If you have already analyzed your DNA somewhere else, then it’s probably worth the $30 fee. It gave me the idea of adding alpha pinene to the terpenes in my “Make your own CBD oil” blends. They suggested that this might help my memory because I have slightly elevated risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. I’m not sure I’d plop down $150 for these somewhat-limited results. A better bet would be to wait for 23 and Me to go on sale (which it does from time-to-time) and then get their more comprehensive genetic results. Once you have those results you can send the raw file to Strain Genie along with $30.