Cannabis News

Boulder, Colorado, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PRESS RELEASE — Surna Inc. announced today that it recently signed a sales contract valued at $3.2 million.

The project in Arizona is for an approximately 53,000-square-foot facility. Surna is under contract to provide custom air handlers, heat recovery chillers and its StrataAir vertical racking air flow system for the cultivation, processing, drying and office spaces (the mechanical engineering design was done by Surna through a previous contract in October). Surna will also provide its SentryIQ environmental controls, and system start-up.

Tony McDonald, CEO, commented: “For the second time in six months, Surna is announcing its largest-ever single contract with this latest contract being nearly 15% larger than the previous record. Over the last several years Surna has invested heavily in technology R&D as well as in our engineering capabilities. The result has been an expanding portfolio of product and system offerings and enhanced engineering sophistication. With Surna’s expanded array of technology offerings, our engineering and sales teams were able to present several options to the client, giving them the opportunity to compare and contrast design approaches and choose the solution best tailored to their particular goals, budget and cultivation methods.”

Indiana Sen. Karen Tallian has introduced two pieces of legislation that would legalize and regulate medical and adult-use cannabis, as well as hemp, according to a local WLWT report.

S.B. 87 would create a Cannabis Compliance Commission to regulate cannabis and hemp in the state, while S.B. 223 would decriminalize the possession of up to two ounces of cannabis, WLWT reported. Currently, Indiana law allows cannabis possession charges for any amount of cannabis, according to the news outlet.

Tallian told WDRB that she has been working for a decade to reform Indiana’s cannabis laws, and that with more states adopting legalization, it is time for Indiana to embrace reform.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam proposed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill Jan. 13, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), would allow sales to launch Jan. 1, 2023, and calls for the licensing of cultivators, processors, distributors/wholesalers, retailers and testing labs, the news outlet reported.

The bill imposes a possession limit of one ounce, and levies a 21% tax on adult-use cannabis sales, according to The Virginian-Pilot. Municipalities would be allowed to impose an additional 3% tax on dispensaries, the news outlet reported.

A portion of the tax revenue generated from an adult-use cannabis market will be directed to pre-kindergarten access for at-risk children, according to The Virginian-Pilot, as well as substance abuse prevention efforts in schools.

The legislation also includes provisions to automatically expunge past cannabis-related misdemeanor offenses, the news outlet reported, as well as a system for petition-based expungements for felonies.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority will regulate and oversee the adult-use cannabis industry under the bill, and will include a governor-appointed, seven-member Cannabis Control Advisory Board, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Northam’s proposal also outlines “diverse participation” plans, which include a licensing process meant to support those identified as social equity applicants, as well as low- or no-interest loans and waived or reduced application and licensing fees for qualified applicants, the news outlet reported.

The legislation also includes a home grow provision that would allow Virginians to cultivate up to two mature and two immature plants per household, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Northam initially announced plans to introduce a cannabis legalization bill in November, and a separate bill to legalize adult-use cannabis has been introduced this year by Del. Steve Heretick (D-Portsmouth).

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, cannabis businesses—many of which were deemed “essential” during coronavirus-related shutdowns—have become accustomed to implementing policies and procedures to keep their employees and customers safe, from mask-wearing and sanitation protocols to how they handle COVID testing at their facilities. Now, as the first vaccines are released across the country, primarily to frontline and health care workers to start, Bianchi & Brandt partner Laura Bianchi says cannabis businesses should develop internal policies regarding vaccination.

“It really is an evolving topic, as it has been all year long,” Bianchi tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “It changes week to week, but I do think that cannabis companies are prepared [to handle the vaccine] because they had to deal with [the pandemic] in such a front-facing manner throughout the entirety of 2020. I think for a lot of businesses, they could say, ‘Everybody work remotely,’ and they haven’t had to come up with the thoughtful policies and procedures to keep everybody safe. Cannabis companies for the most part have, so I think that puts them ahead of the curve in going, ‘OK, now let’s figure out this next phase. How do we adopt and implement things that will make sense for our patients and our staff?’”

Businesses should be prepared to move quickly once the COVID-19 vaccine is available to the general public, Bianchi says, and when developing their policies regarding vaccination, business owners should consider that in many markets, cannabis companies operate medically. Dispensaries must be prepared to deal with ill patients who may be in higher-risk populations, and Bianchi says many of her cannabis clients are considering requiring their employees to be vaccinated for this reason.

“We always advise [that] there has to be exceptions for people who have some sort of medical issue or seriously held medical beliefs,” she says. “But this is a health care facility, so we can’t place other people and patients at risk. If we can require people to take the vaccination, it’s a benefit not only to the business owners and to all of their employees, but [also] to the patients who come in.”

Many states are “at will” employment states, Bianchi says, which means that employers have the right to establish company and workplace policies, requirements and conditions—such as those relating to mandatory vaccination—as long as they don’t violate any constitutionally protected class or right.

In addition, this past December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) determined that an employer’s act of requiring employee vaccinations alone would not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Bianchi says, which could further strengthen an employer’s position on required vaccinations.

Although it appears, then, that employers can legally require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Bianchi says the issue is likely going to be the subject of debate and litigation going forward.

“Employers really do need to weigh the risks and benefits of requiring vaccinations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, clients and business as a whole, versus any potential liability related to implementing such a requirement,” she says.

Many of Bianchi’s clients have asked how to approach mandatory vaccination from an operational standpoint, and she has advised them to be as detailed as possible in their policies and procedures. First and foremost, she says employers should issue a uniform vaccination policy in writing, and this policy must be carefully constructed.

For example, in many facilities, such as dispensaries and cultivation and manufacturing operations, employees cannot work remotely to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and they work in close proximity to one another. In these situations, Bianchi says it might make sense for employers to require mandatory vaccination.

“A lot of our clients also have corporate offices, and for corporate offices, there’s a little bit more flexibility in saying, ‘If we don’t want to implement a must-have vaccination policy, can some of these individuals work remotely?’” she says. “Even that can be a slippery slope because you want to make these rules and requirements cohesive across the board, but there is some flexibility where maybe you’re in a location where you don’t always have to be on-site to do work.”

In most cases, Bianchi advises companies to evenly apply vaccination policies across the board, and business owners should meet with their attorneys to go over exceptions to mandatory vaccine policies, including requirements for employees looking to prove that they are in a situation where they would be exempt from such a policy.

If an employee refuses to follow a mandatory vaccination policy for reasons outside of the allocated exemptions, Bianchi says an employer could legally take disciplinary action, including termination.

“Again, most states are ‘at will’ employment states, so if an employer implements a COVID-19 employee vaccination policy … and an employee simply refuses, that employee may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination,” she says. “This is also something employers may opt to contractually require through an employment agreement. In that case, an employee’s refusal would be deemed a breach of contract and in the same manner, be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.”

Employers should also consider whether they will pay for mandatory vaccines if they are not covered by health insurance, as well as the timeframe for employees to be vaccinated.

“A lot of our employers are saying, ‘We’ll do this as a group—either we’ll take our employees to a certain location, or we’ll have them come to us,’” Bianchi says. “[Many businesses] did this with COVID testing, as well, [to make] it easier for employees, so they’re not searching for a location, they’re not paying fees—the employers are taking that on when they can.”

Creating a vaccination policy for seasonal workers at cultivation facilities could also pose a challenge, she adds, and employers must decide whether to require these types of hires to receive the vaccine, as well.

“You’ve really got to think about how do we keep everybody safe?” Bianchi says. “They’re going to go home to their families, [and] we’ve seen how quickly [the virus] can spread. This is an industry where it can and certainly does spread fast, so we’re trying to think of those things ahead of time, and every business has to figure out how to function financially but also help employees who may be in vulnerable financial situations get through this.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, cannabis businesses—many of which were deemed “essential” during coronavirus-related shutdowns—have become accustomed to implementing policies and procedures to keep their employees and customers safe, from mask-wearing and sanitation protocols to how they handle COVID testing at their facilities. Now, as the first vaccines are released across the country, primarily to frontline and health care workers to start, Bianchi & Brandt partner Laura Bianchi says cannabis businesses should develop internal policies regarding vaccination.

“It really is an evolving topic, as it has been all year long,” Bianchi tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “It changes week to week, but I do think that cannabis companies are prepared [to handle the vaccine] because they had to deal with [the pandemic] in such a front-facing manner throughout the entirety of 2020. I think for a lot of businesses, they could say, ‘Everybody work remotely,’ and they haven’t had to come up with the thoughtful policies and procedures to keep everybody safe. Cannabis companies for the most part have, so I think that puts them ahead of the curve in going, ‘OK, now let’s figure out this next phase. How do we adopt and implement things that will make sense for our patients and our staff?’”

Businesses should be prepared to move quickly once the COVID-19 vaccine is available to the general public, Bianchi says, and when developing their policies regarding vaccination, business owners should consider that in many markets, cannabis companies operate medically. Dispensaries must be prepared to deal with ill patients who may be in higher-risk populations, and Bianchi says many of her cannabis clients are considering requiring their employees to be vaccinated for this reason.

“We always advise [that] there has to be exceptions for people who have some sort of medical issue or seriously held medical beliefs,” she says. “But this is a health care facility, so we can’t place other people and patients at risk. If we can require people to take the vaccination, it’s a benefit not only to the business owners and to all of their employees, but [also] to the patients who come in.”

Many states are “at will” employment states, Bianchi says, which means that employers have the right to establish company and workplace policies, requirements and conditions—such as those relating to mandatory vaccination—as long as they don’t violate any constitutionally protected class or right.

In addition, this past December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) determined that an employer’s act of requiring employee vaccinations alone would not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Bianchi says, which could further strengthen an employer’s position on required vaccinations.

Although it appears, then, that employers can legally require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Bianchi says the issue is likely going to be the subject of debate and litigation going forward.

“Employers really do need to weigh the risks and benefits of requiring vaccinations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, clients and business as a whole, versus any potential liability related to implementing such a requirement,” she says.

Many of Bianchi’s clients have asked how to approach mandatory vaccination from an operational standpoint, and she has advised them to be as detailed as possible in their policies and procedures. First and foremost, she says employers should issue a uniform vaccination policy in writing, and this policy must be carefully constructed.

For example, in many facilities, such as dispensaries and cultivation and manufacturing operations, employees cannot work remotely to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and they work in close proximity to one another. In these situations, Bianchi says it might make sense for employers to require mandatory vaccination.

“A lot of our clients also have corporate offices, and for corporate offices, there’s a little bit more flexibility in saying, ‘If we don’t want to implement a must-have vaccination policy, can some of these individuals work remotely?’” she says. “Even that can be a slippery slope because you want to make these rules and requirements cohesive across the board, but there is some flexibility where maybe you’re in a location where you don’t always have to be on-site to do work.”

In most cases, Bianchi advises companies to evenly apply vaccination policies across the board, and business owners should meet with their attorneys to go over exceptions to mandatory vaccine policies, including requirements for employees looking to prove that they are in a situation where they would be exempt from such a policy.

If an employee refuses to follow a mandatory vaccination policy for reasons outside of the allocated exemptions, Bianchi says an employer could legally take disciplinary action, including termination.

“Again, most states are ‘at will’ employment states, so if an employer implements a COVID-19 employee vaccination policy … and an employee simply refuses, that employee may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination,” she says. “This is also something employers may opt to contractually require through an employment agreement. In that case, an employee’s refusal would be deemed a breach of contract and in the same manner, be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.”

Employers should also consider whether they will pay for mandatory vaccines if they are not covered by health insurance, as well as the timeframe for employees to be vaccinated.

“A lot of our employers are saying, ‘We’ll do this as a group—either we’ll take our employees to a certain location, or we’ll have them come to us,’” Bianchi says. “[Many businesses] did this with COVID testing, as well, [to make] it easier for employees, so they’re not searching for a location, they’re not paying fees—the employers are taking that on when they can.”

Creating a vaccination policy for seasonal workers at cultivation facilities could also pose a challenge, she adds, and employers must decide whether to require these types of hires to receive the vaccine, as well.

“You’ve really got to think about how do we keep everybody safe?” Bianchi says. “They’re going to go home to their families, [and] we’ve seen how quickly [the virus] can spread. This is an industry where it can and certainly does spread fast, so we’re trying to think of those things ahead of time, and every business has to figure out how to function financially but also help employees who may be in vulnerable financial situations get through this.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, cannabis businesses—many of which were deemed “essential” during coronavirus-related shutdowns—have become accustomed to implementing policies and procedures to keep their employees and customers safe, from mask-wearing and sanitation protocols to how they handle COVID testing at their facilities. Now, as the first vaccines are released across the country, primarily to frontline and health care workers to start, Bianchi & Brandt partner Laura Bianchi says cannabis businesses should develop internal policies regarding vaccination.

“It really is an evolving topic, as it has been all year long,” Bianchi tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “It changes week to week, but I do think that cannabis companies are prepared [to handle the vaccine] because they had to deal with [the pandemic] in such a front-facing manner throughout the entirety of 2020. I think for a lot of businesses, they could say, ‘Everybody work remotely,’ and they haven’t had to come up with the thoughtful policies and procedures to keep everybody safe. Cannabis companies for the most part have, so I think that puts them ahead of the curve in going, ‘OK, now let’s figure out this next phase. How do we adopt and implement things that will make sense for our patients and our staff?’”

Businesses should be prepared to move quickly once the COVID-19 vaccine is available to the general public, Bianchi says, and when developing their policies regarding vaccination, business owners should consider that in many markets, cannabis companies operate medically. Dispensaries must be prepared to deal with ill patients who may be in higher-risk populations, and Bianchi says many of her cannabis clients are considering requiring their employees to be vaccinated for this reason.

“We always advise [that] there has to be exceptions for people who have some sort of medical issue or seriously held medical beliefs,” she says. “But this is a health care facility, so we can’t place other people and patients at risk. If we can require people to take the vaccination, it’s a benefit not only to the business owners and to all of their employees, but [also] to the patients who come in.”

Many states are “at will” employment states, Bianchi says, which means that employers have the right to establish company and workplace policies, requirements and conditions—such as those relating to mandatory vaccination—as long as they don’t violate any constitutionally protected class or right.

In addition, this past December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) determined that an employer’s act of requiring employee vaccinations alone would not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Bianchi says, which could further strengthen an employer’s position on required vaccinations.

Although it appears, then, that employers can legally require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Bianchi says the issue is likely going to be the subject of debate and litigation going forward.

“Employers really do need to weigh the risks and benefits of requiring vaccinations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, clients and business as a whole, versus any potential liability related to implementing such a requirement,” she says.

Many of Bianchi’s clients have asked how to approach mandatory vaccination from an operational standpoint, and she has advised them to be as detailed as possible in their policies and procedures. First and foremost, she says employers should issue a uniform vaccination policy in writing, and this policy must be carefully constructed.

For example, in many facilities, such as dispensaries and cultivation and manufacturing operations, employees cannot work remotely to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and they work in close proximity to one another. In these situations, Bianchi says it might make sense for employers to require mandatory vaccination.

“A lot of our clients also have corporate offices, and for corporate offices, there’s a little bit more flexibility in saying, ‘If we don’t want to implement a must-have vaccination policy, can some of these individuals work remotely?’” she says. “Even that can be a slippery slope because you want to make these rules and requirements cohesive across the board, but there is some flexibility where maybe you’re in a location where you don’t always have to be on-site to do work.”

In most cases, Bianchi advises companies to evenly apply vaccination policies across the board, and business owners should meet with their attorneys to go over exceptions to mandatory vaccine policies, including requirements for employees looking to prove that they are in a situation where they would be exempt from such a policy.

If an employee refuses to follow a mandatory vaccination policy for reasons outside of the allocated exemptions, Bianchi says an employer could legally take disciplinary action, including termination.

“Again, most states are ‘at will’ employment states, so if an employer implements a COVID-19 employee vaccination policy … and an employee simply refuses, that employee may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination,” she says. “This is also something employers may opt to contractually require through an employment agreement. In that case, an employee’s refusal would be deemed a breach of contract and in the same manner, be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.”

Employers should also consider whether they will pay for mandatory vaccines if they are not covered by health insurance, as well as the timeframe for employees to be vaccinated.

“A lot of our employers are saying, ‘We’ll do this as a group—either we’ll take our employees to a certain location, or we’ll have them come to us,’” Bianchi says. “[Many businesses] did this with COVID testing, as well, [to make] it easier for employees, so they’re not searching for a location, they’re not paying fees—the employers are taking that on when they can.”

Creating a vaccination policy for seasonal workers at cultivation facilities could also pose a challenge, she adds, and employers must decide whether to require these types of hires to receive the vaccine, as well.

“You’ve really got to think about how do we keep everybody safe?” Bianchi says. “They’re going to go home to their families, [and] we’ve seen how quickly [the virus] can spread. This is an industry where it can and certainly does spread fast, so we’re trying to think of those things ahead of time, and every business has to figure out how to function financially but also help employees who may be in vulnerable financial situations get through this.”

Natural cannabinoid distillates and isolates are hydrophobic oils and solids, meaning that they do not mix well with water. By formulating these ingredients using various technologies, companies like Caliper and Ripple have learned how to change the solubility properties of the cannabinoids. In addition, formulations can improve bioavailability and onset time of the cannabinoids.

Stillwater Brands is a cannabis formulation company based out of Denver, Colorado, leveraging proprietary technologies for solubilizing cannabinoids in water. Stillwater has a partnership with the Canadian company Green Organic Dutchman and will soon expand their THC line of products, Ripple, into Michigan. Their CBD product line, Caliper, is already sold nationally.

We spoke with Drew Hathaway, senior food scientist at Stillwater, about the Stillwater technology and aspirations for growth. Hathaway joined Stillwater in 2018 after engaging with them as a technical sales representative in his previous role at a food ingredients supplier.

Aaron Green: What trends are you following in the industry?

Drew Hathaway: I can mainly speak to the science side of the business since that’s where I operate, but I do have some insight into the marketing approach and some of the things we look at. We’re looking at traditional food and beverage trends, whether it’s beverage formats, with its unique ingredients that are going to be general flavor trends, which can definitely be very region-specific. One of the things we definitely look at, especially on the THC side, is dosage differences. What are people putting their dosages at? Are they doing a combination of cannabinoids or terpenes? Are they really using individual ingredients? I think that’s something that’s been fairly well established in the THC market, especially since you have the regulatory mandate of 10 milligrams THC being your max single dose.

When Stillwater first launched in 2016, our company started with lower dose products to provide microdose options. We focus all of our products on functional foods for consumers. It’s why we have three different options for every single one of our products. We have what we call the Pure 10 which is 10 milligrams of THC per serving. We have what we call the Balanced 5. That’s 5 milligrams THC, 5 milligrams of CBD. Then as well as our Ripple Relief, which is a 40 to one ratio of CBD to THC at 20 milligrams CBD and 0.5 milligrams THC. We provide a variety of options for people looking for different dosage levels. We have to look at all of those trends. Packaging trends are also high on our radar.

Aaron: How about flavors?

Drew: We recently launched additional SKUs for our Ripple gummies here in Colorado. We have four different options. We have a sour variety pack that contains sour watermelon, sour apple and sour peach. We also just launched peach cherry, kiwi apple and sour watermelon by itself — and all of those are at the five milligram THC per gummy dose. That aligns with the Pure 10 line as well. We also have been working on some new flavors for the 10 milligram THC quicksticks, which we’re looking to launch early next year. Then, like I mentioned earlier, we’re expanding into Michigan with the THC business, which has been a big goal for us and something that’s gotten a lot of effort behind the scenes.

Aaron: So Drew, how did you get involved at Stillwater?

Drew: I like to describe myself as a traditionally educated food scientist. I went to college and got my bachelor’s and master’s in food science and technology at Ohio State. And then I ended up at a really cool company that was a very large food ingredient supplier. I was technical support to sales for their team. Through that position, I covered the Colorado territory as well as California and I got to cover Stillwater as one of my customers providing technical advice on different products and ingredients that they were looking at. I got involved with Stillwater through that position, back in the early days when they were still trying to develop and figure things out. That would have probably been about four years ago. I was able to see from the sidelines and I was dealing with some other cannabis companies in the space here in Colorado at the time too.

I recognized very early on what they were trying to do by making cannabinoids water soluble and water compatible. It was not only extremely challenging, but also had a ton of potential if they were able to pull it off. At that point, they were still trying to figure out how this is going to work. How do we produce it? How do we sell it? How do we make sure that things are stable? Things of that nature. I got an inside look at Stillwater from the very start, back when there were really only a few people at the company. I would check in with them regularly as they needed help.

I always joked that they were my least important, most interesting customer and I mean that only because they were buying extremely small amounts of ingredients from us. From a sales perspective, naturally, my manager didn’t necessarily want me spending a ton of time working with them. From a personal interest perspective, I was like, “these guys are doing something really intriguing and if they can pull this off this has a ton of potential, so I want to help them however I can.”

I dealt with them in that sales capacity for about two years before they talked about expanding into the CBD space with the Farm Bill passing at the end of 2018. I recognized at that point that I think they had two scientists including Keith, our head of R&D, and I said “alright, that’s really ambitious. You probably need some help! I think it’s time for me to take the leap and see if you guys are interested in having me come on board.” Fortunately, they were and so I’ve been with the company a little over two years now.

Aaron: Can you explain at a high level what the Stillwater products do?

Drew: The base technology behind all of our products for Ripple and Caliper is essentially converting your fat-soluble cannabinoids, whether it’s CBD or THC, into a water compatible product in a process referred to as emulsification. What you’re essentially doing is taking CBD and THC containing oils, whether it’s a distillate or isolate, and you’re essentially breaking those fat droplets into extremely small droplets and then stabilizing them at that size. We make our own emulsion — the fat droplets are extremely small — then when you draw that down into a powder format and redissolve it into water, you are dispersing billions upon millions of fat droplets into your glass. Those droplets are evenly dispersed through the beverage so that you get the same amount of THC or CBD in your first sip that you get in the last sip. That’s really the core technology behind everything that we do.

Taking cannabinoids and making them water soluble is the base technology necessary in order to make something like a shelf-stable infused beverage. There’s no way that you’re going to take traditional distillates or cannabinoids and be able to make a beverage that is shelf-stable otherwise. It’s been really cool since joining Stillwater to learn and understand how that process changes the way that those cannabinoids are absorbed by your body. Emulsification changes things like the onset time, as well as the total amount of cannabinoids your body’s absorbing and using. That’s been something that’s super interesting to see through the clinical research that we’ve done with human participants through Colorado State University.

Aaron: Let’s say if you just take THC oil and put it into an infused product. What’s the difference between that and Ripple?

Drew: Some products formats, such as beverages, just aren’t possible with THC oil without an emulsification technology. As the old saying goes in science, water and oil just don’t mix. So, if you were to take a traditional THC distillate and try to add it to a beverage, that would just float on top as a big oil slick. When you took your first sip, you would essentially get all of the cannabinoids in your first gulp which not only makes precise or partial dosing impossible, but also would taste absolutely terrible. Emulsification makes those infused beverage products possible and stable over a normal one-year shelf life or potentially longer.

Emulsification also changes the way that your body absorbs those cannabinoids, which is something that we’ve definitely put a heavy emphasis on and have really been able to validate with clinical research. I think that’s one of our biggest differentiators versus our competitors. We’re definitely not the only ones in the water-soluble cannabinoid space, but from my understanding, I think we’re one of the few companies that have actually executed human-based clinical trials (vs rodents) through a third-party university and been able to prove that these cannabinoids are detected in your bloodstream as fast as 10 minutes after consumption. We measured those results directly against an oil-based control, where you’re not going to get a peak absorption until maybe 60 to 90 minutes after consumption. What this research found was that not only was our product absorbed much faster, but it also enabled a significantly higher amount of the cannabinoids to actually make it into the participants’ blood stream where it can be used by their bodies. We also found the type of food emulsifier makes a significant difference in absorption – not just emulsion size, counter to common belief.

We use the analogy, “It’s getting a better bang for your buck.” The main purchasing consideration for a lot of edibles consumers when you go to a dispensary is “what is my cost per 10 milligram dose of THC?” That’s one of their key purchasing parameters, especially for your lower budget customer. What’s great with Ripple is one milligram of THC consumed through our Ripple technology is not really equivalent to one milligram of an oil-based product and that your body is actually going to absorb a higher percentage of it. And therefore, you’re going to get more of an effect, whether you’re looking for a medical effect or whether you’re looking for more of a recreational therapeutic effect. It also improves the consistency of that experience. So, with oil-based products, you could have the same products multiple different times and based on what you recently ate, you might get a higher or lower absorption rate or a faster or slower absorption rate. It’s also in the consistency of the experience and I know that from our market research of our consumers of Ripple products here in Colorado since that’s been in the market for a few years now. That’s the number one reason why people really trust our brand is because they can count on getting a consistent experience every time for the same dose.

As we all know, with the THC market and edibles market being newer in general, that’s most people’s biggest fear, especially if you’re a new consumer of THC — you obviously don’t want to consume more than what you can handle as far as getting higher than you want to be or anything like that — So consistency is a really, really key aspect for us and something that I’m definitely proud that we can provide that for our consumers.

Aaron: What does your product look like when you dissolve it into a liquid – let’s say something clear? Is the resulting mixture clear or cloudy?

Drew: We do have liquid concentrates, especially in the Caliper side of things, but with our powders, it kind of billows in as a cloud when you add it to a clear liquid. You can almost think of it like when we pour creamer into coffee: you see the cloud expand and then slowly fill out the cup and then be fully mixed in. Whereas with our products if you pour it into clear water, and you’ll see this white cloud form and then disperse. The final solution is generally a little bit cloudy depending on how much water you add it to.“I’ve been fortunate to be the lead developer for those products for Caliper and for Ripple, and flavor work is definitely something that never gets old.”

Aaron: How are customers using your products?

Drew: For a long time, we’ve had a variety of products in the market, some of which are still in the market, and some of which we’ve pulled since then. The key product for us has always been the Ripple dissolvable powder. It’s an unflavored, unsweetened powder that comes in a little sachet packet that you can tear open just like you would any other product and add to really anything. With its water compatibility, there’s really not a single product that you can’t add it to. It’s been really cool to see through social media, and in general, consumer engagement is electric and is kind of viewed as a novelty. The initial reaction is “Oh, I can take this little powder, put it in my eggs and now I have infused eggs!” It’s been great to see the creativity that our consumers have. We’ve seen it put in such a wide variety of products that literally you can make anything into an edible. I think that’s one of the coolest aspects of that product and why it’s been so successful.

One of the things we did realize pretty fast is that for a lot of people, the convenience and the consistency of the experience was a main driver for why they were purchasing our products. A lot of our real consumers just take that packet apart, ripping it open and pouring it straight in their mouth. It’s the fastest and most convenient way to consume the products, pretty much anywhere. We dug into that with our more recent launch of Ripple Quicksticks. And then we added some flavor, we added a little bit of sugar and sweeteners to make it a consumer-friendly experience where you get a really enjoyable flavor. It’s still just as convenient to consume by just ripping the packet straight open and pouring it in your mouth.

Aaron: It sounds like there must have been some interesting internal product development testing!

Drew: Yeah, definitely. That’s a fun one. I’ve been fortunate to be the lead developer for those products for Caliper and for Ripple, and flavor work is definitely something that never gets old. It can be frustrating at times, it’s definitely not the easiest thing to do. We’ve looked at traditional berry flavors, citrus flavors, as well as weird, kind of out-there flavors, to see what we like and what we think will work with our consumers.

Aaron: What states do you operate in?

Drew: Currently, our Stillwater THC business only operates in Colorado. That’s essentially the genesis of all the companies (Ripple, Caliper) is Stillwater being here in Colorado. We’re excited to announce that we’re expanding to Michigan next year. That’s something that we’ve all been working pretty heavily on developing and getting ready to go. That will be our first expansion of the THC brand to a different state.

We do have a licensing and distribution agreement with The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) in Canada. They produce our products using the same technology up there and license also under the Ripple brand name. So, it’s great to see the presence that we’ve been able to expand up there.

Then with Caliper on the CBD side of things with Caliper Ingredients and Caliper Consumer. We operate nationwide for that based on the more recent rules with the 2018 Farm Bill. For me, especially working across all of those business units, it’s really interesting to see the different business approach between your target CBD consumers and your target THC consumers because they’re really different markets. There’s definitely some overlap, but you’re targeting a different demographic to a certain degree. We keep those decisions in mind when we’re choosing how to market and what flavors to use and what products to make. So that’s been really interesting for me to see the behind-the-scenes discussions.

Aaron: I saw on your website, you’ve got consumer options via the dispensaries. Do you work with any infused product manufacturers on a licensing basis or partnership basis?“I’m super excited to continue to see how the medical research will continue to evolve.”

Drew: I’d say the majority of them are definitely on the CBD side for Caliper, partly because the regulatory environment of CBD just is a little bit easier to kind of engage other customers and to sell products across state lines and things of that nature. We do have some partnerships with some of the companies here in Colorado. I’d say the main one that we’ve promoted externally is with Oh Hi infused Seltzers based out of Durango, Colorado. It’s been a great agreement where we provide our base technology via liquid Ripple formulation that they can then infuse into their seltzers. They’ve done a great job with those products and it’s definitely a partnership that’s been mutually beneficial.

Aaron: What are you personally interested in learning more about?

Drew: For me, the whole appeal of joining the industry was research. With prohibition and decades of those restrictions preventing true research there are so many unknown questions that still need to be investigated. I’m super excited to continue to see how the medical research will continue to evolve. I think we’ll get better clarity on the efficacy of individual cannabinoids versus different combinations and ratios of cannabinoids. The entourage effect is something that’s pretty heavily talked about in the industry. I do think there’s some research to support that. I also think there’s still way more unknowns than things that we actually know. So, I’m super interested in seeing how our understanding of everything will continue to improve over time.

I’d love to see the medical research eventually expand into what synergistic benefits exist between cannabinoids and other bioactive ingredients such as turmeric, catechins, antioxidants and other plant-based ingredients that have gotten a lot more interest through the medical research in the last decade.

Then one of the things I’m always excited about being on the science side of things is we’re still investigating the general compatibility of cannabinoids with various types of food and beverage products. That goes not only for ingredient interactions, but also factors like pH, water activity and moisture content. Even packaging definitely plays a role in cannabinoid stability for a variety of products. There’s also a variety of production processing technologies that still need additional investigation, whether you’re talking pasteurization, for beverages, or retort for canned products or newer technologies like high pressure processing (HPP). So, I think the most exciting thing for me, and the reason I was really willing and interested in joining the industry, is there’s so much to learn. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of things to explore. I think as an industry the better we conduct this research, the better off we’ll all be.

Aaron: That’s the end of the interview! Thanks Drew.

Cannabis genetics are the cornerstone of Green Dot Labs’ Boulder, Colo.-based concentrates operation, and according to co-founder Dave Malone, the craft beer industry provided the inspiration he needed to give the company’s unique cultivars their own identities.

Malone says the craft brewing industry started out as a select few companies with lines of beers that were almost indistinguishable among consumers, but as soon as brands began investing in marketing, consumers started gravitating toward specific brands.

The cannabis industry, he says, has a lot to learn from this approach.

“That’s what we’re aiming to do with our genetics, is give them their own identity,” Malone says. “People may prefer different brands for whatever reason, but they still look at our Cherry Fluff strain, for instance, which is [branded as] a beautiful cherry on a big pile of whipped cream, and [the marketing is] very captivating and seductive. People identify with that.”

Photo courtesy of Green Dot Labs

Dan Banks, director of cultivation strategy for Denver- based Lightshade, echoes this sentiment, adding that marketing is beginning to play a large role in the cannabis genetics space, with name-brand recognition starting to emerge among consumers.

“You have a couple different demographics,” Banks says. “You have people who are used to getting certain things from dispensaries, [and] they want to see those things maintained. Then you have people who are interested in anything new and checking that out, and if it’s new, then they’re like, ‘I want more of that’ or ‘I want more from that lineage.’”

Founded in 2011, Lightshade is one of the largest Colorado-owned, vertically integrated cannabis operators in the state. The company operates a greenhouse operation in Denver, as well as four indoor grow facilities.

When Banks joined Lightshade in late 2019, the company was cultivating roughly a dozen varieties across its five facilities, but it has since grown its genetics library to nearly 70 cultivars, with roughly 30 in regular production.

“Over the last year and some change, we’ve grown the library of genetics in the company and then implemented what we call a phenotyping program,” Banks says. “Basically, that’s a systematic way of introducing new varieties into production and gathering information about their performance, both on the horticultural side and also on the quality [and] potency side, as well.”

Lightshade acquired vertically integrated cannabis operator Sacred Seed last summer, which provided the company with a large bank of new genetics. Heading into 2021, Lightshade will establish an in-house breeding program to produce unique and proprietary varieties.

“[We’re] really trying to get some unique variety, … while also trying to cater to consumers that are looking for specific name-brand strains, as well,” Banks says, adding, “A lot of the things that people are excited about right now, there’s a lot of marketing behind that. Sometimes that marketing has a lot of substance backing it up, and other times it’s just a lot of hype.”

Photo courtesy of Lightshade

Along those same lines, Malone says that companies can invest in robust marketing for a mediocre product, but that product still won’t do as well as better-quality offerings—product quality and marketing must go hand in hand.

“You can put all of the branding in the world on a jar of undifferentiated product and it won’t do well, but if you have integrity from the core, which is your genetics, it really extrapolates the value downstream when you do add these marketing layers to the product,” he says.

Green Dot Labs is entering its seventh year and maintains an in-house breeding program to create genetics specifically for its extracts.

“A lot of cannabis companies are curating genetics through a vast network that are available worldwide, whereas we’ve taken that into our own hands and steered the ship toward the goals that we set out, [so we’re] not necessarily … at the mercy of the market to provide content for the brand,” Malone says.

As it breeds new strains, Green Dot Labs brands them, which Malone says has become especially important in recent years as consumers have started to expect more from cannabis extracts.

“The consumer wants to know more,” he says. “They want to know the heritage, the lineage, where the strain came from, [and] what kind of flavors and experience they can expect when they open the package.”

Green Dot Labs has roughly 20 branded strains in its genetics library, and Malone says the branded cultivars outsell the company’s non-branded offerings, 3-to-1.

“There is so much content out there for the average consumer,” he says. “It’s overwhelming to find what strains work best for you. Everything in the current market, specifically here in Colorado, is extremely generic. A lot of companies haven’t taken this extra measure to differentiate their genetic portfolios.”

It’s a cultivator’s responsibility to tell the consumer why his or her product is better than others through branding, Malone says. The main points of brand differentiation, he adds, will be proprietary genetics that offer unique flavors and experiences, as well as the quality and efficiency with which these cultivars are produced.

Creating a Differentiated Experience

When Green Dot Labs launched its breeding program, Malone says it took a qualitative approach. The company pursued genetics that mirrored nearly every type of fruit, from a banana to an apple, and also started breeding what he calls “gassy” varieties. Since not all genetics are created equal when it comes to performing well in the extraction process, data collected during extraction helped the Green Dot Labs team further refine its genetics offerings. Specifically, the company looked at extract yields, and pursued cultivars with differentiated flavors that offered as much resin as possible.

Green Dot Labs recently closed on a new facility in Colorado that will allow the company to expand and increase its R&D capacity as it heads into the new year.

“We’re going to be delivering new strains and new flavors that have never even been imagined by the most sophisticated cannabis connoisseur,” Malone says. “That’s the goal now.”

Another one of the company’s goals, he adds, is to find strains that perform well during solventless extraction.

Photo courtesy of Green Dot Labs

“You see a lot of connoisseurs wanting to enjoy the solventless extract, but the problem with this and why it’s so expensive is because your yields are highly unpredictable and heavily predicated on the quality of the plants you produce and the genetics,” Malone says, adding that Green Dot Labs currently has 10 cultivars in its genetics library that work well with solventless extraction.

As the company heads into 2021, it will expand its extracts line by improving the resin structure of its favorite plants while also creating new cultivars.

“We like to offer something for everyone,” Malone says. “Each consumer has a certain taste, and we don’t want to alienate anybody. We want to make it so anybody who likes cannabis can come to Green Dot Labs and this can be their one-stop shop.”

For Banks and the Lightshade team, 2021 will be focused on establishing the company’s breeding program, which will include sourcing more genetic material and identifying desirable plants to work with.

“What we’ll do is try to establish a bank of male plants that we can then use to start crossing with females, and the other thing that we’ll do is look at partnering with some of the companies that are offering genetic mapping in order to get a better understanding of the source genetics that we have,” Banks says. “You bring something in and it has a name, but is it what they’re saying it is? We don’t know, but we can look into that.”

The market continues to change rapidly as consumers gain a better understanding of terpene profiles and minor cannabinoids, adds Nick Drury, Lightshade’s director of cultivation operations, and Lightshade will lean into consumer education and marketing to address these topics.

“People are realizing that it’s not just about THC content,” Drury says. “It’s also about your overall terpene profile, and how those terpenes and cannabinoids are interacting to produce a high. As people start to increase their own education into certain things, I think what you’ll start to see in the market as a whole is a shift … in terms of what people are looking for, and a little bit more interest in specific profiles, [which will do] away with the indica/sativa/hybrid terminology. … That will open up the market to a lot of cultivars that may be low in overall THC, but they might be high in CBN and all these other cannabinoids and all the different terpene profiles. … I would say education and marketing are huge in the upcoming year.”

“I think branding is just going to become more important than ever,” Malone adds. “[With] the quality [and] the differentiation being so vast, how you present the product to the consumer is really where the rubber is going to hit the road once competition elevates to this level.”