CBD Health

Hemp genetics and breeding are of vital importance. The proliferation of high-profile seed scams—seeds that produce “hot,” poor quality, or unfeminized crops—illustrates the point. A study published in Global Change Biology-Bioenergy confirms the role that genetics play in the success of a hemp harvest.[1]

Farmers often blame environmental stress when crops exceed the legal threshold (0.3%) of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This reasoning is not ungrounded. Environmental stress has been shown modify levels of THC and cannabidiol (CBD). However, according to this study, the genetics of the plant also help determine how much THC hemp produces.[1]

Larry Smart, professor at Cornell University, and his research team cultivated over 200 hemp plants (14 varieties) at two different sites in New York, and then analyzed their genetics and chemistry. Incidentally, one of the locations suffered natural flood stress during flowering.

The researchers categorized female plants genetically based on their combination of alleles (variant genes) coding for either tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) synthase or cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) synthase (BT and BD, respectively). The synthase enzymes catalyze formation of their respective cannabinoid acids (the acidic forms of THC and CBD). In the study, the hemp plants lined up as follows:

• THC-dominant alleles (BT/BT): 2 plants
• Heterozygous (BT/BD): 65 plants
• Hemp-dominant alleles (BD/BD): 150 plants

The field locations did not make a significant difference in cannabinoid content. The authors noted that “cultivar was the best predictor of total potential cannabinoid concentration.” All BD/BD plants were below the 0.3% threshold for delta-9-THC, but only 35% of the heterozygous plants passed the test. Interestingly, only 39% of the BD/BD plants were below 0.3% total potential THC.

The researchers discovered that “[c]ultivar populations that were thought to be stabilized for CBD production were found to be segregating phenotypically and genotypically.” Genetics were strongly correlated to cannabinoid ratio (CBD:THC) and total THC. The researchers also speculated that “differences in cannabinoid production ascribed to changes in environment may in fact be due to sampling of individual plants with BT alleles.”[1]

Thus, with hemp, farmers have to look at nature and nurture.

Image Credit: Arek Socha

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Reference

1. Toth JA, et al. Development and validation of genetic markers for sex and cannabinoid chemotype in Cannabis sativa GCB Bioenergy.2020;12(3):213-222.

Over the past three decades, the principal driver of business has undoubtedly been technology. Whether it’s the latest consumer product launch, the newest startup taking the investment world by storm, or developments in efficiencies, tech has been seen as the lightning rod of business growth.

Although tech is still running strong, entrepreneurs and investors who are serious about finding the next big wave of growth should turn to the field that stands to be one of the greatest drivers of growth over the next decade: science. Those who embrace this early and successfully harness this vast potential to create new growth will be the winners of the new science economy.

While science was, not too long ago, the engine of global business growth, for the past few decades, it has lived in the long shadow cast by tech. But today, with a warming and increasingly crowded planet creating major issues ripe for business disruption, a number of cultural, political, environmental, and demographic forces are combining to create a perfect storm for science-based businesses.

In just the past few years alone, we’ve seen scientific research create entirely new industries where there were none before. For example, according to a report by Allied Market Research, the artificial meat industry will grow to $8.6 billion in 2026, from $4.1 billion in 2017–notching a global, industry-wide CAGR of nearly 8% between 2019 and 2026.

Artificial meats are only one small drop in an ocean of science-fueled growth. In fact, the span of this new frontier is virtually limitless, ranging from materials science research creating ultra-thin solar panels and electric car batteries, to genetic research powering companies like 23andMe. And with the rate of scientific advance compounding, the areas that science will open to business exploration will see an exponential rise in coming years.

Just as importantly, we’re seeing progress in the domain of transferring scientific knowledge and discovery from the lab to commercial applications. We’re learning how to connect scientific advances with market gaps, gauge risk related to bringing new science-based applications to market, and train scientists to work in business innovation.

As the CEO of three science-based business ventures, I’ve seen how powerful this model can be—and just how much potential lies in its development. At my current company, Creo, we’ve been able to put an advanced new twist on the quite fundamental process of fermentation to develop microbial strains that produce rare cannabinoids, without the need for any plants whatsoever. In leveraging scientific advances in biosynthesis in this way, we’re solving problems at market, legislative, environmental, and social levels. Our fermentation-derived cannabinoids don’t run afoul of federal laws, don’t involve the substantial environmental costs of a large crop, and, given all this, will make these powerful ingredients accessible to many more people.

Putting science at the center of a business model also offers a unique competitive edge. The high degree of knowledge and expertise required to develop and market science-based solutions enables companies to carve out highly defensible niches for themselves. For the startups that drive innovation, this kind of breathing room from competition is crucial.

So how should entrepreneurs go about leveraging science for growth?

In my experience, these steps are critically important:

Create Real Fusion

Business leaders need to do more than create partnerships with scientists that have complementary skills. They have to build organizations that intertwine science and business. This is about science-minded entrepreneurs working in synergy with practically minded scientists to create the kind of interplay between science and business that can truly impact the world.

Embrace the Importance of Your Role 

Your work will bring you into close contact with incredibly smart people. Researchers may awe you with their technical knowledge. Scientists can make you feel intellectually stunted by comparison. It’s easy to be intimidated by such expertise. But don’t. Just like you need these brilliant scientists, technologists and researchers need you too. Your work of commercializing these complex breakthroughs could not be done without their work, but they could not do it alone either.

Translate the Science into Human Terms 

Science operates in the idealized world of controlled experiments. Yet humans exist in the imprecise, messy world of real life. Understanding that to be successful the science needs to work for real people in their everyday life is foundational to successful commercialization.

Think About Constraints Early

Your idea is going to get tested by practicalities along the way. Materials for product production might be scarce or unsuitable. Manufacturing tolerances may require a change of plans. If you work in a linear or sequential fashion, you might find yourself continually backtracking to rework your idea to meet real-world constraints. To avoid these U-turns, consider the practical constraints as early as possible–start with the end in mind.

It’s clear that science is going to come roaring back to the frontlines of commerce and industry. Those looking to grasp the future will do well to embrace this unfolding reality.

Roy Lipski is Co-Founder & CEO of Creo, an ingredient company with a proprietary platform for producing natural rare cannabinoids without the cannabis plant.

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Advocacy on behalf of health through cannabis requires representation of commercial cannabis businesses. Legal representation is the advocacy these businesses need. Excellence in the defense of innovation is, therefore, critical to the health of the cannabis industry and the betterment of patients and consumers.

Lawyers who advance this defense must be indefatigable in their work, insightful in their counsel, and invaluable in their results. Those who possess these skills are indispensable to a just marketplace and the cause of justice itself, because we have the right to improve our health.

Since I am not a lawyer, because I hold no brief (pun intended) for the legal profession, I can only speak about this issue with the rigor my training as a scientist demands.

Law firms that promote science,  whose clients invest in or promote breakthroughs in science, are integral. Fore xample, Manzuri Law for doing just that: advising cannabis businesses with an interest in helping consumers.

Consider this, then, my case for health, science, and wellness. Consider this my case for lawyers who understand the myriad regulations that govern the cannabis industry too. Consider this case as my appeal to you, reader, as if you were a juror in a trial on the importance of your own health.

This case hinges on a simple fact: that the cannabis industry can neither succeed nor survive without legal guidance.. In turn, what happens to the cannabis industry influences what happens to farmers (growers) and retailers (dispensaries) and all manner of workers. Were the cannabis industry to stop, were sales to cease and storefronts to close, the public would suffer; people would lose access to products that offer palliative or natural care; we would all lose access to our right to care for ourselves.

For these reasons, we need unity among advocates for science, law, health, and economics. Unity begins with our need to reason with the public.

We need to publicize the reasons why cannabis is vital to health and wellness. We need legal reasoning to complement scientific and medical evidence.

Now is the time for lawyers to provide certainty about what these businesses must do, so we can benefit from the newest treatments, the newest remedies, the newest products, and the newest services.

Now is the time for cannabis businesses to prove that their commitment to following the law is equal to their devotion to the laws of science. The two reflect a commitment to the highest standards of accountability and responsibility and reflect a company’s commitment to the furtherance of personal and professional ethics.

This commitment is a prescription for health and wellness, allowing the cannabis industry to flourish and its best products to thrive.

If we look at this commitment for what it is, an effort to reveal how advances in health lead to advances in law or how advances in law lead to advances in health, we should be able to see how the cannabis industry can be a model of strength.

Strong in its values and steadfast in its ideals, the cannabis industry–with the right legal counsel–can inspire us to achieve greatness.

Let us seize this opportunity.

A protégée of the late Willard Libby, the 1960 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Michael D. Shaw is a UCLA- and MIT-trained biochemist. He writes about health, science, and public policy, among other things.

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Feb. 8, 2021, San Luis Obispo, CA –The Original CBD Expo TOUR, a Mace Media Group Production has announced its 2021 tour schedule which includes stops in Indianapolis, Denver, Orlando, and Los Angeles. The announcement was made by the company CEO, Celeste Miranda, “I am happy to announce the CBD Expo Tour for 2021. MACE Media Group is looking forward to confirmed live events this year networking the cannabinoid industry’s finest entrepreneurs, researchers and policy advocates in an environment which showcases the finest products and services, in an environment dedicated to precautionary safety.”

The Original CBD Expo, the CBD Expo TOUR that started it all is the premier expo for all things cannabinoids. With over 17 successful CBD Expo Conferences, the 2021 Tour will be bringing the most spectacular trade show in the industry to four major cities. CBD Expo MIDWEST, a returning show, will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indianapolis Marriott East from April 9-10, MOUNTAIN in Denver, Colorado at the Grand Hyatt Denver from May 7-8, EAST in Orlando, Florida at Rosen Shingle Creek from Aug. 26-27 and WEST in Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott from Sep. 24-25. Cannabinoid professionals and companies including 3CHI, Big Sky Scientific, Your CBD Store, Lost Coast Plant Therapy, and Mach Technologies will gather to connect and focus on the industry’s most critical issues and opportunities.

The Original CBD Expo Tour will follow all federally mandated COVID-19 guidelines to ensure all events are as safe as possible for exhibitors, attendees and staff, including the wearing of masks, controlled flow and regular temperature checks.

MACE Media Group is a pioneer within the cannabinoid industry, boasting the largest collection of online and digital media with four publications in specialized niches. Terpenes & Testing Magazine, Extraction Magazine, CBD Health & Wellness Magazine and the Journal of Cannabinoid Medicine. In addition, MACE hosts some of the cannabinoid industry’s biggest events including The CBD Expo TOUR, the Psychedelic Science Conference and CONCENTRATION.

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If you would like more information about this release, please call us at 877-524-MACE or send an email to info@macemediagroup.com

Reading a scientific paper may be daunting, foreign, or frustrating. The lofty jargon used by scientists may read like a William S. Burroughs’ cut up version of the alphabet. Page after page of mathematical equations may cause you to shiver with frightful melancholies of some recessed algebra class from your distant past. Or worse…it could be calculus, a class that disturbs the best of us, even if we understand its strange universal power.

But skipping a paper entirely and looking only at headlines of summaries written by journalists can get you into trouble–there is inherent bias in the media (to say the very least) and lots of inaccuracies in science reporting. That said, it’s important to understand how to dive into a scientific paper without fear and loathing.

We’ve highlighted a few of these below, in order of where they appear in the study:

Abstract

This first part of the paper provides a succinct summary of the findings. Ideally, you can read this to get a good feel for the study’s findings. Here’s what we did…and here’s what happened. Short and sweet.

Introduction

The intro showcases what’s been done before, and what happened then. This is all great background, as it lays the proper masonry for the researchers’ novel contribution to science. But the intros can be redundant. If you read a lot of journal articles, you may be saying “here we go again” as you witness much of the same content and references you’ve seen before. Nerdy déjà vu. So, if you’ve been there before, jump ahead to the last paragraph. Usually, this outlines the basic research question and why the researchers are conducting the study. You’ll notice words like “In this study…,” and that’s where you should begin.

Results

You’ve maybe thumbed (or clicked) through the pages of the methods and the results, noticing all the nitty-gritty details describing the technical details of the study. This pertinent information is mostly important for other researchers to explain the techniques used, but it isn’t necessarily required for you to understand the study’s meaning.

However, it might be a good idea to check the tables and figures for a quick look at the main results of the study. Sometimes these can be quite confusing, so if you’re not getting the key takeaways from this section, move along to the discussion.

Discussion

This section summarizes the main findings of the study (alas, sometimes the discussion is combined with the results, making this tip obsolete). The discussion may still require you to do some extra digging, but if you hang in there, and maybe Google a foreign word here or there, you should be in good shape.

Conclusion (Outro)

Often times (but not in every case), the authors will add a conclusion statement. A well-written conclusion should convey the general idea behind how the study can or will impact the scientific community, now that data has been analyzed and deductions have been drawn.

In Part 2 of this article, we’ve explore some other nuggets that are important to consider when reviewing a scientific article.

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Hemp research in colleges and universities is exploding as scientists work to find even more uses for and knowledge about the plant. Among the leaders in hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) research universities include New York state campuses, though many other states are close behind.

Several colleges and universities in New York so far have been granted licenses to study the properties of hemp for CBD-based medical applications and a range of other uses. These include Cornell University and SUNY Morrisville, among others. Research at Cornell University, which boasts a well-known agricultural school, includes studying how genetics and environment influence cannabinoid levels, developing a new genotyping system, and testing molecular markers.

Some of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, such as Charlotte’s Web, are also taking part in these studies in New York, as Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced $5 million dollars in grants to study hemp.

University research is booming largely as a result of loosening regulations, making it much easier for university research teams to access hemp for study.

In addition to seeking out new uses for hemp and CBD, researchers are also making an effort to refine cultivation practices. Since the plant was considered illegal for so long, there is a long way to go in establishing ideal farming practices.

With increasing research from universities, hemp cultivation will become more mainstream, and both new and experienced hemp farmers will have a clear path to follow with best practices established.

While many hemp farmers are interested in CBD-rich hemp, there is also increasing interest in growing hemp for fiber and grain. A growing number of businesses such as textiles and automobiles interested in hemp-based products may help trigger more college and university research in these industrial applications.

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Researchers are starting to develop a better grasp on cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but this only scratches the surface of the known phytocannabinoids.

The lack of concrete knowledge on CBD and THC, including its ability to treat certain conditions, results from major discoveries in cannabis during the last few decades due to federal prohibition and research restrictions.

However, the industry is now taking a closer look at other cannabinoids in the plant to see what powers they might hold. Here we discuss just two of these beginning to make waves.

Cannabitriol

Cannabitriol (CBT) is a cannabinoid first isolated in 1968. And a study has shown that it is a major product of THC oxidative degradation.[1]

CBT is much less common in cannabis in comparison to THC and CBD, and therefore, it is considered a rare minor cannabinoid. While there is very little known about its therapeutic effects, a very early pre-clinical study showed that it could have potential to treat glaucoma.[2]

Cannabicitran

Cannabicitran (CBT-C5) is also a minor cannabinoid that is often confused with CBT but is a unique cannabinoid in its own right. There is very little known about this cannabinoid but that could quickly change.

Currently, GVB Biopharma is looking into CBT-C to delve further into its potential benefits.

The aforementioned studies have not established concrete findings on either of these cannabinoids. Research is still in the preliminary phase and much remains undiscovered. Much like other phytocannabinoid and their derivatives, academic data on the matter has a long way to go before any tangible conclusions can be made.

But these highlight the exciting state of cannabinoid research. Every day, new findings are published and we get closer and closer to a better understanding of the compounds in this magical plant.

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References

1. Brogan AP, et al. Antibody-catalyzed oxidation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2007;129(12):3698-3702.
2. Elsohly MA, et al. (1984) Cannabinoids in glaucoma II: The effect of different cannabinoids on intraocular pressure of the rabbit. Current Eye Research. 1984;3(6):841-850.

Phytocannabinoid composition in a cannabis cultivar determines most of its benefits. This makes the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD) ratio a matter of great significance for scientists, clinicians, and consumers alike, as these major cannabinoids provide different effects.

Phytocananbinoids do not work in isolation. When they come together in a cultivar, they create an opportunity for ensemble benefits. Thus, phytocannabinoid composition is one of the most important aspects of any cultivar.

A group of researchers from the University of Minnesota recently set out to investigate the role that genetic variation plays in influencing cannabinoid ratios.[1]

Study Overview

The researchers employed a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-approved research protocol to study feral C. sativa that was obtained from the Minnesota River Valley. Minnesota is in fact the first place CBD was isolated from feral hemp, making it an interesting place to study genetic variations.

Authors categorized THC:CBD ratios as THC-type, CBD-type, and intermediate type. In this study, a genetic model was created to examine the relationship between phytocannabinoid ratios with functional and non-functional alleles of the gene cannabidiolic acid synthase gene (CBDAS).

Methods

The researchers analyzed the CBDAS genotypes of over 300 feral cultivars; in addition, 20 “clinical” cultivars from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and 12 Canadian-certified grain cultivars were included to validate the model.

The samples were analyzed and gas chromatography methods were used to measure the levels of phytocannabinoids present, including cannabichromene (CBC), cannabigerol (CBG), CBD, THC, cannabinol (CBN), delta‐8‐THC, and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). Genotypes were used to predict THC:CBD ratios.

Results

The researchers found a direct correlation (predicted with 100% accuracy) between the CBDAS genotypes and the cannabinoid content in the feral cultivars, even though the total phytocannabinoid content varied substantially. Similar results were obtained from the “clinical” and industrial cultivars.[1]

These findings add further evidence that the industry at large should drop the nomenclature differentiating cannabinoids from cannabis vs. hemp or referring to certain cultivars as industrial, clinical, or feral.

This small study indicates that CBDAS genotypes may be used to predict cannabinoid profiles in a cultivar.

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Reference

1. Wenger, Jonathan P. et al. Validating a predictive model of cannabinoid inheritance with feral, clinical, and industrial Cannabis sativa. American Journal of Botany. 2020;107(10): 1423-1432.