Buried inside a mountain on a remote Norwegian island, agricultural institutions from around the world are collaborating to safeguard important crops in the event of global catastrophe.

Including marijuana.

By preserving genetic material in an insulated, underground facility, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault hopes to guard against the permanent loss of plants that humanity relies on for food and medicine.

According to a Marijuana.com analysis of Svalbard's database, there are 21,500 cannabis seeds being held for safekeeping in the vault. That's more weed seeds than there are asparagus, blueberry or raspberry seeds stored at the facility. There are more marijuana genetics in the "Doomsday Seed Vault" than there are for artichoke, cranberry and pear combined.

The stored cannabis seeds originate from at least 17 countries, some of which aren't at all surprising, like The Netherlands. Five hundred of the marijuana seeds, however, come from North Korea. None originate from the United States.

While the government of Norway owns and operates the Svalbard vault itself, with assistance from the...