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Organoleptic BlueprintingProduct Design to Please the Senses

The Gooey Beauty Crafted

by Compression

The Delicate Preservation

of Cannabis’s Nectar of the Gods

A Marriage of Skill and Creativity

Bringing Out the Artist in Every Extractor

Scaling from Bench-top to PilotThe Metamorphosis from Miniature to Mammoth when Meeting Consumer Demands

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Cannabis on Collision Course with Science

ISSUE 12 Jan/Feb 2020

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Contents

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06

16

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20

The Delicate Preservation of Cannabis’s Nectar of the Gods

Talkin’ Cannabis Edibles

24 The Good Word According to John

Scaling: From Benchtop to Pilot

Organoleptic Blueprinting


Publisher MACE Media Group

CEO Celeste Miranda

Editor-in-Chief Jason S. Lupoi, Ph.D.

Authors: Jason S. Lupoi, Ph.D.

Randy Reed Joseph Resnick, Ph.D.

Joyce Mann Jason Boze

Steven R. Pena

Designer Marko Nedeljkovic

Advertising Julian Azevedo

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There are many beautiful things about Cannabis sativa. Of course, there’s the plants themselves. That goes without saying. Huge colas, alien-like protuberances dripping with resinous ingredients vital to humanity, and of course, in those glands, the terpenes, creators of the wonderfully diverse assortment of fragrances. So, yeah – farmers get to take in lots of exquisiteness.

But it doesn’t end there. There are the plant’s medicinal gifts that have helped millions of people live with lessened pain, anxiety, and depression, to name an ultra-limited few. Veterans, cancer patients, opioid addicts, epileptic children, and the elderly have all benefitted from the enigmatic cannabis plant. And we’re only beginning to unearth the therapeutic potential. Analogously, we’ve only grabbed a fist full of topsoil. There’s lots of scientific archaeological work to be done.Outside of the therapeutic realm, there’s the myriad of people who feel more functional and creative when utilizing cannabis; this can be traced throughout history when considering the making of musical, artistic, and literary works, or our appreciation of them. But wait, there’s more.

Something for Every NerdMany cannabis products are derived from extracting cannabinoids and terpenes and other phytochemicals, leaving the bulk of the biomass behind. You know the terms here. Hashish, rosin, live resin, or shatter. Budder, badder, sugar, and wax. Despite the extraction methods used to obtain these products, many involve some level of product refinement. Again, with more terms: winterization, decarboxylation, distillation. Yes, it’s easy to nerd-out over C. sativa.

It may seem rather daunting if you’re a nascent cannabis user or are new to the industry. There’s so much to learn. While some people would have you believe that they are experts in the extraordinary ways of C. sativa, the plant warrants a

genuflect and humbled unpretentiousness, as it’s ready to demonstrate at any given time that we don’t know everything, despite what we might exude.

The cannabis extractor has several options on hand, but every decision begins with what products the extractor wants to create. This dictates which product refinement options to choose, if any. The base cannabis extract is called crude oil and provides a wonderful alternate usage of the traditional phrase. Crude oil contains cannabinoids and terpenes of course, but also contains co-extracted constituents like plant pigments and waxes.

Cannabis plants also contain water. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, as an example, carries that water along for the ride, and thus, any water-soluble phytochemicals. This water may or may not be desired. Again, what are you designing? Thus, the water might be decanted as a first step, boosting the potency of the crude.

Some Say It’ll Happen via the Big FreezeWaxes are removed during winterization. Making a cream, balm, or lotion? Perhaps you want those waxes. But if you’re looking to create vaporizable products, winterization is critical, as inhaling waxes can be deleterious to your health. In those cases, wax removal, using cold ethanol, further concentrates the remaining ingredients.

Some people will perform double winterization, or triple, even more, which may or may not be needed. While double winterization is a popular buzzword, a savvy extraction company should evaluate whether the mass loss from a second winterization (or more) is worth their time and expense. A tolling company should do likewise to gauge whether it’s worth their clients’ resources as well. After all, honesty and good advice are still a part of humanity.

By Jason S. Lupoi, Ph.D.


6 EXTRACTION MAGAZINE

7EXTRACTION MAGAZINE

The Curse of the Glorified Gummy BearsNext up is decarboxylation, a process that simply uses heat to convert acidic cannabinoids to their neutral brethren. If you’re

making vaporizable products, you don’t need to decarboxylate, as the heat generated from the device will do the job for you. But if you’re making edibles, and you don’t decarboxylate,


your customers will be left with an expensive, ineffective, and therefore, disappointing experience. There’s nothing quite like buying glorified gummy bears for a few Andrew Jacksons, popping one, then another, and then, with a look of befuddlement and fear, another, only to get nowhere at all.

Terps in EM? NaturallyThese product refinement steps remove undesirable ingredients, while also causing some loss in mass of key constituents. While potency goes up, cannabinoids can adhere to waxes, even when rinsed with cold ethanol, and decarboxylation bakes off some lighter, more volatile terpenes. And if there’s one thing I don’t think I need to convince you of, those terpenes aren’t just for a good smell. Rather, terpenes are key cultivar differentiators and entourage enhancers, helping navigate your experience, no matter what road you choose. Dear terpenes, I could inhale you all day.

Amber to GoldSome folks filter, others distill. And there are pros and cons to both. Carbon filtration, for example, helps strip color and bitterness, but it also strips cannabinoids. Thar Process evaluated about a dozen different filtration media, and found that some barely scathed the color, while others produced the desired hues, just with concomitant losses in cannabidiol (CBD). So, there’s a tradeoff. There’s also the spent carbon to consider, as it can quickly add up. Don’t really see myself saying “jiffy”. But the faces of the customer who ingests a bitter, acrid tincture of yours might be worth contemplating on carbon filtration.

We all know about distillation from booze, or water. Cannabis extractors use distillation for the same reason: purification. Your CBD and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) will gain in strength, so, you’ll begin to refine to just a few molecules in the spectrum. Most of the terpenes are fractionated into one collection flask, the desired distillate in another, and then you’ve got the bottoms or tails, which contains various concentrations of cannabinoids and other molecules separated out, like pigments. So, distillation also strips color, and several passes through the distillation process enable amber hues to become gilded.

Organoleptic BlueprintsThus, carbon filtration might cause cannabinoid losses that are not reclaimable, but the filtered oil may contain more terpenes than distillate. Analytics will guide you along the way. The oil might be less potent but may contain ingredients enabling the label of “full-spectrum”. The distillate, however, might have higher potency of specific cannabinoids, and a more pleasing flavor and taste. And because everything is captured, you can rejoin terpenes with cannabinoids, and even further refine the sludgier bottoms.

OutroLike a painter with a built-out palette, extractors of C. sativa, have several refinement options available for their product artistry, each with a point, a rationale. These processes require research and analytics for comparison, though, and knowledge on what you’re looking to put out in the world.



Organoleptic blueprinting is an essential part of product design for consumer-packaged goods (CPG). Organoleptic properties are the aspects of food, water or other substances that create an individual experience via the senses—including taste, sight, smell, and touch. [1,2] An example of organoleptic analysis is of pepper spiciness on the Scoville scale. [3] We are also seeing the term pop up in cannabis competitions, product sell sheets, and more.

Organoleptic blueprinting is a tactic used in the CPG industry to aid in the design of products that delight consumers. The term blueprint implies a document or structure from which brand value can be built. Regarding product design, organoleptic blueprinting is the sensory analysis, characterization, and documentation of key features, benefits, and attributes of a product. It’s an essential tactic used to inform critical decisions in the product design life cycle. It’s viewed as a core competency in knowledge-centric “smart” (Figure 1), New Product Development (NPD) organizations and addresses a need to assess products in a consistent and reproducible manner. [1]

In this article, we will review how organoleptic blueprinting was used to design a classic style of cannabis root beer. The product in this case study is now selling under the Mortimers brand in Washington and California in quarter 2 of 2020.

As with many sciences, it’s all in the design of the experiment and/or the scientific method. Sensory science for product development is no different. Designing a process for experimentation is as important as the experiment itself. One must be careful not to bias the senses, the tasting panel, and the marketers. When designing an experiment for the goal of developing a new product, I like to keep it simple.

1. What is the hypothesis we are trying to prove or disprove? 2. What are the key metrics? 3. What are the tools and techniques needed?

In the case of our real-world examples, our hypothesis was: cannabis root beer tastes too sweet and gives us a headache. For the root beer, we sampled our competitors’ cannabis root beers and our tasting panel was unanimous that they were all too sweet. More than half of the panel described the effects as borderline headache, heavy eye pressure, “headband”, and even anxious.

In addition to the sensory analysis, we utilized quantitative measures such as brix, pH, dissolved carbon dioxide (CO

2), and liquid chromatography for cannabinoids to give us a deeper understanding of the complexities in our sensory analysis.

Key metrics and attributes are what an organoleptic blueprint is drawn from. Unlike quantitative metrics, sensory metrics tend to be more qualitative. An educated palate, eye, ear, or hand can facilitate dialogues that aid in the definition and documentation of organoleptic metrics named “language mapping”. As a side note, utilizing expert sensory profiling and evaluation is used in food safety as a first line of defense, where high throughput sampling is limited. Simply put, if it smells bad, tastes bad or looks bad, it might be bad, and it should be tested further.

As simple or complicated as it sounds, sensory science has its own vernacular. It’s akin to how a vintner describes wine or how a chef talks about food. Food scientists use flavor wheels and spectrums to standardize organoleptic assessments for taste and smell. By now, we are familiar with cannabis flower and extract organoleptic assessments.

Consider how long it took the wine industry to utilize and standardized organoleptic analysis compared to the cannabis industry. Humans have never had such a rich understanding of the organoleptic properties of cannabis as we do today. In addition to quantitative chemovar analysis, we are ripe for the next wave of cannabis products evolution.

By Randy Reed, Olala

Organoleptic Blueprinting


Photo credit: Randy Reed of Olala


Tools and techniques Quantitative tools such as brix meters, pH meters, dissolved CO2 meters, turbidity meters, thermometers, etc., are important to the product design process for beverages, but they are not the focus of this article. Instead, we use tools called difference, descriptive, and acceptance testing. We use techniques such as the “triangle test” for difference testing, blind tasting for descriptive testing, and untrained consumer panels for acceptance testing. [4]

Triangle test The triangle test is a validation technique used to target a specific sample and thus validate the sensory accuracy of the pallet. For example, a panel is set up as AAB or ABB where A and B are the two samples and the tester is tasked to identify a target sample out of the group.

Organoleptic Targeting for Product Design For root beer, we were looking for a balanced flavor profile, with equal parts of sweet to bitter and savory to sour. We looked for a combination of acidic and alkaline sensations on the pallet. In tasting our competition’s cannabis root beers, we felt that they were under-carbonated which caused the product to taste overly sweet. The cannabis notes in our competitors’ root beers were bitter, rubbery and metallic — certainly not a delightful organoleptic experience. We specifically chose the word delightful because the days of just creating a palatable

cannabis beverage are not good enough. The cannabis beverage space is maturing rapidly, and competition is tough. Delighting the customer is always our goal.

Carbonation is used in soft drink making for several reasons. In this case, carbonation is used to create a carbonic acid reaction on the palate which is bitter and balances the sweetness of the beverage. If you’ve tried a flat soda, you probably noticed it tasted sweeter than the same beverage when fresh. This is a bit of a sensory illusion. In fact, the level of sweetness, measured in brix, remains the same in the flat beverage versus the carbonated beverage. The only difference between the two is that that the beverage is flat and thus has no carbonic acid to balance the sweetness.

We can use quantitation to help us validate our sensory experience. In a flat soda, pH has risen to become more neutral going from less than 4 to greater than 5, dissolved volumes of carbonation drop from 4.5 to 1 volume. Brix is the constant in this formula and, thus, it was determined that the target formula must have a higher level of carbonation versus the market survey sample set.

We identified three main styles of root beer in our market survey sample set:

1. Sarsaparilla style: Medium sweetness, earthy, spicy, peppery, licorice, full body.

Figure 1


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2. Birch style: Medium sweetness, wintergreen, astringent, bright, light body.

3. Molasses style: Sweet, savory, caramel, vanilla, medium body.

As a result of the groupings above, we were able to further target the organoleptic features desired in our root beer and below is our organoleptic blueprint for our Mortimers Classic Style Cannabis Root Beer. Our goal was to create a root beer with a broad flavor appeal and not get niche.

Taste and texture 1. Proper levels of carbonation to balance sweetness and add

crispness.2. Sweet top notes of vanilla and caramel, with a touch of

spice from sarsaparilla root. 3. Medium body texture from cane sugar and molasses also

provides sweet and savory base notes. 4. Minimal astringency from birch notes which was found

to magnify and/or clash with the peppery taste of our cannabis oil infusion.

5. Sarsaparilla notes used as a classic flavor feature added complexity and interest with medicinal, bitter, earthy notes to help balance the sweetness of the sugar and molasses.

Color 1. Dark brown with red to orange undertones 2. Not golden, yellow, green, black.

Serving Temperature 1. At or slightly below standard refrigerator temperatures

(1.6 to 4°C) will retain carbonation better after being poured, and/or serve poured over ice.

Package visual and tactile 1. Classic amber glass long-neck bottle from high-quality

European bottle factory2. Clearly labeled potency, flavor, and brand with a US

Food and Drug Administration style information panel on the side for efficient and familiar ingredient and caloric information.

Efficacy 1. No cannabis distillate or isolates to combat side effects

like headaches and anxiety.2. Proprietary, pharma-grade, full-spectrum, cannabis

aqueous concentrate for full-spectrum edible effects, precisely dosed to within 5% relative standard deviation.

3. Onset in 10-15 minutes, “sessionable” (term from the alcohol industry regarding onset, length of effects and offset) enabled via enhanced bioactivity from the carbonation and a combination of lipophilic and hydrophilic formulation constituents.

4. Variety of full-spectrum potencies: 10 mg THC, 30 mg THC, 75 mg THC, 100 mg THC, 250 mg THC + CBD (THC = delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; CBD = cannabidiol).


References[1] Moskowitz, H. et al. Sensory and Consumer Research in Food Product Design and Development, 2012, Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, Iowa.

[2] Mezgebo, G. et al. “Comparison of organoleptic quality and composition of beef from suckler bulls from different production systems,” animal, 2017, Vol 11(3): 1-9. [journal impact factor = 2.026; cited by 8]

[3] Chauhan, V. and Sharma, A. “Studies on organoleptic properties of food products from fresh egg and egg powder through principal component analysis,” Nahrung/Food, 2003, Vol. 47(2): 102–105. [journal impact factor = 4.653; cited by 4]

[4] Ashurst, P. and Hargitt, R. Soft drink and fruit juice problems solved. 2017, Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, Mass.

After designing the organoleptic blueprint above, we started formulation trials. [2] It took us only two trials before we were satisfied with the formulation. We attribute the rapid product development cycle to the organoleptic blueprinting process, which is also what we used in the R&D of our full-spectrum edible/drinkable cannabis oil. Notably, our sensory panel and focus groups found full-spectrum formulations to taste and feel better when compared to distillate and isolate beverage formulations. We are currently working on a design of experiments (DoE) to validate this observation.

Being able to rapidly go from concept to creation to production is a competitive advantage in an emerging marketplace. By leveraging knowledge from the food and beverage industries, we can advance our industry’s understanding of sensory science. We can fuse our heritage culture with food and sensory science to create cannabis products that delight customers. With informed and intentional design through organoleptic blueprinting, we deepen our understanding of complex human senses and bring sensory science to life. As cannabis product designers, the more targeted we are, the better the user experience, and the better our industry will be. Using organoleptic blueprinting as a tactic to elevate cannabis beverage design and going beyond the low bar set by early market product designers is the next level in cannabis product design. Don’t settle for anything less than delightful. Use your senses to create and experience tasty and efficacious cannabis products so that we all can enjoy the benefits of a job well done.



The legalization of cannabis products throughout the continental USA is driving rapid growth, sophistication of processes, development of new products and tremendous revenues into state coffers. Recreational and medical cannabis users are increasingly discerning about effectiveness, reliable dosing, taste, smell, texture, and value-added for money spent. And these issues, too, are compelling cannabis producers and marketers to constantly improve both quality and consistency in products and dose formulations. A North Carolina-based hi-tech company, RMANNCO Inc., has reported the development of multiple formulations for use in both the medical and recreational cannabis sectors by virtue of its ability to microencapsulate cannabis extracts, e.g., cannabidiol (CBD), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), terpenes. Microencapsulation differs, considerably, from conventional ‘spray-drying’ methods, which is how most cannabis beverage products are made today.

In contrast, using technology originally developed in collaboration with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), RMANNCO has formed alliances with several of the largest cannabis producing companies in the US, its territories, with producers in the Canadian cannabis markets and global markets… and virtually anywhere use of cannabis products is legal to utilize ‘Space Age’ science to make the next generation of cannabis products. Growth in this industry sector is advancing at a phenomenal rate with some equating this ‘explosive growth’ with the ‘California Gold Rush’ of the 1800s.

Our microencapsulation technology has its foundations in the ‘NASA Spinoff Technology Program’. This technology enables microencapsulation in the truest sense of actually encapsulating liquids, solids, or gaseous compounds in a capsule that is an exact size (100 microns, for example) to create products of specific sizes that have a core, a secondary layer and an outer shell. The core can be loaded with liquids, solids, or gases and the shell wall thickness can be fine-tuned to enable soft or robust release/crushing/melting, etc.

A major problem in the now-legalized cannabis industries is what has come to be affectionately termed, “The Frowney-Brownie Dilemma”. In other circles, the same problem of precise product dosing and product matrix consistency is called, “The Funny Rice Cake Bake”. In both instances, the problems associated with dosing/control of actives (e.g., percent THC or percent CBD) contained consistently throughout the product matrix exist, and no standardized method of producing edibles to assure precise, exact dosing has been mandated by any governmental body. As an interim solution to this problem, Canada has outlawed production/sale of edibles altogether, citing absence of reliable methods that afford precise matrix content and prevents overdosing.

Thus, no standards currently exist that are designed to provide consumers with the confidence that assure/mandate that producers make cannabis products the same way with the same components, every time! Unfortunately for consumers, mechanisms to make each edible product consistently and predictably identical are not employed industry-wide. One example is in the ‘edible-gummies’ vitamin niche where each producer has its own formula. In this area, producers are finding that the products being made do not contain the specified concentration of ‘actives’ in the product matrix when analyzed post-production.

The reasons for this are many, but one element affecting actives content and bioavailability is the fact that actives, e.g., THC/CBD, are susceptible to oxidation, acidification and high temperatures encountered during the product creation process. For example, the components used to make ‹gummy-products›, e.g., guar, sugar, oils, etc., have a tendency to break down and carboxylate when exposed to heat. Likewise, vitamins break down and potency is lost during production. Consequently, a formula that starts out with, say, 20% active Vitamin B12 and extracts (THC/CBD), breaks down by a factor of nearly 40% to 60% as a direct result of product manufacture process. This results in an inferior product with loss of shelf life, potency of the actives, and these are not good things for the consumer markets.

By Joseph Resnick, Ph.D. and Joyce Mann, RMANNCO, Inc.

Talkin’ Cannabis Edibles

In the case of edibles, consumers can purchase a “brownie” at a legal dispensary on which the label states contents of active THC/CBD compounds, at, say, 3%. If they section that brownie into six pieces, and then analyze each of the pieces, in every instance, the THC/CBD content is different in each piece. In most instances, the percent-content of active deliverables is well below the stated ‘3%’ as labeled and in other cases the entire dose is usually contained in a single piece.

The fundamental reason for this is that products are not homogeneous, and the components are not being made part of the product in the best form to enable meaningful ‘bioavailability’. In other words, the THC/CBD compounds have not been protected from breakdown during the cooking process and the plant compounds have not been thoroughly integrated into the product matrix. More importantly, during the cooking process, the THC/CBD compounds are degraded and de-natured (weakened) as a result of exposure to heat, oxidation and acidification. This fact results in production of products with lower deliverables quality, dulled taste and organoleptic (‘color’) deficiencies.

Photos Courtesy RMANNCO, Inc.

Encapsulated CBD Oil in Beeswax Shell with Liquid Core at 150umPhoto Courtesy RMANNCO, Inc.


Extraction is like a modern form of alchemy. Some extractors even consider the cannabis flower as its “raw” and “unrefined” state, making the comparison to grapes and fine wines. Cannabis extraction provides an art form that allows you to pluck a green plant from the earth and miraculously condense it down to a gorgeous golden oil. How you extract this “nectar of the gods” needs to be considered.

By now you’ve likely heard, seen, and probably even dabbed butane hash oil, or BHO, often in the form of shatter, crumble, or badder. Even though the effects may appear beneficial, it can actually have potentially fatal health risks. Solvents like butane and propane are commonly used in extracting delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Both gases are highly flammable, (not to mention, at fault for some horrendous kitchen fires/lab explosions) and inhaling such solvents are proven cancerous for the end user. [1]

No matter how close to zero PPM (parts per million) a batch of BHO is, a truly solventless experience can never be reached, meaning breaths of butane for the whole squad. Be sure to think twice about how your oil was extracted, as anything from an unreliable source

is liable to have potentially unsafe levels of butane. Let’s be real, though. Inhaling any amount of butane is unsafe.

What about carbon dioxide, or CO2

extraction? That stuff’s natural, right? Simply put, if the plant used for extraction was treated with chemical insecticides or fungicides of any sort, there will be concentrated levels of those chemicals inside your oil. Unless you’re growing and extracting your own plants, it could be very tricky to know how much of what chemical is left behind for you to inhale.

Even with the best extraction equipment available on the market today, there still can be “acceptable” levels of contaminants in the resultant oil if the input biomass was contaminated or in the form of residual solvents, pesticides, or mycotoxins. Therefore, some commercial extracts are sub-par and just plain bad for your health. How can we avoid these risks?

Enter rosin, stage left. Lucky for us, extracting THC doesn’t have to be so risky. In fact, solventless extraction can be pretty simple with the right tools. All it takes is heat, pressure, and good material (flower or hash). With a little

know-how and execution, anyone can produce top quality extracts without running the risk of inhaling carcinogenic gases or horrendous lab fires. At Sasquash, we take pride in providing

By Steven R. Pena, Sasquash

The Delicate Preservation of Cannabis’s Nectar of the Gods


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you with the tools to maximize your yields and increase your extraction experience. Not only does solventless extraction provide a cleaner product for your lungs, it’s also cleaner for the earth, with little or no waste left behind.

There are still some factors to consider when ingesting solventless extracts. Even though rosin won’t have trace elements of noxious gas, you still need to be weary of any pests, bacteria, fungi, mycotoxins, pesticides, or fungicides that may have been used on the plants. This is especially so with flower rosin, since the raw flower is pressed to extract the oil, and anything that is on the bud will essentially be “juiced” out, With hash rosin or “live” rosin, which has the added step of sifting or “washing” (using ice and water) the trichome heads from the biomass, there should be notably less undesirables left behind from less than optimal care of the plants.

By stripping away the resins from the biomass, the pressed oil can be virtually free from plant matter, which ultimately leads to a cleaner, tastier, and more potent product than just pressing the flower itself. It can also prevent ingestion of foreign contaminants since the hash is washed through micron screens, which in some cases, are so small not even a blood cell could squeeze through.

If you do press or smoke rosin, be aware of the quality of the flower going into the process in order to understand the final results. Not all cultivars (or even phenotypes within a cultivar) are created equal, so don’t be put off if one plant presses a lighter color than another or doesn’t yield (express) as much as another.

Solventless extracts are quickly changing the landscape of the

cannabis industry and are sweeping the scene by storm, elevating the smoking experience to the next level of quality. Pressing rosin is no longer just a method of extraction, but briskly becoming an art form. Remember, ultimately the choice of what goes into your body is up to you but keep some of these important factors in mind when making information-based decisions.

As the demand for clean cannabis products rises, the popularity of rosin has skyrocketed to one of the

more coveted forms of extracts as it stands today.

Once, people would rely on pressing or processing flower for the best quality extracts. Lately, the market has elevated to wanting a “higher” quality, more refined product, thus, leading to the resurgence of hash rosin.

Sasquash is a family-owned and operated business that takes the utmost pride in our work, creating presses and relationships between growers and processers alike, in hopes of generating a network of likeminded, passionate people who are here to shape the industry for the better.

Better Industries, Better World.


Reference[1] Portland State University. “Cancerous toxins linked to cannabis extract.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2017.

Whether you are an industry veteran, a well-funded neophyte, or an OG garage artist hoping this legalization thing is just a bad nightmare, you will (hopefully) be faced with that moment when you realize that you can’t keep up with demand. The holy grail. But how to get there? This is the point where we look to the wisdom of Indiana Jones whilst on his Last Crusade and “choose wisely”.

Increasing the output of your cannabis manufacturing operation affects every aspect of your process, business, license, and your resolve. Scaling is tough, often counter-intuitive, and takes orders of magnitude longer than intended. One of the harsh realities of the lab is that what works so well in small batch R&D does not directly translate to full pilot level production. But why? It seems simple enough. You spend weeks, months, possibly even years developing a process to produce a product exactly how you want it using what is most likely small scale everything. Beakers, benchtop roto-vaps, grams, milliliters, seconds all should scale to vats, falling film, keys and liters, right? It does…eventually.

The following are some high-level lessons learned from starting a Prop 215 organized collective and growing it over four years to converting and starting all over in the newly regulated California commercial cannabis space.

FacilitiesBefore you order your equipment, line up all your consumables and have your permits in place. It is crucial to consider the impact the increased capacity will all have on the facility. Amperage is the Achilles’ heel of most small to mid-sized operations; 200A – 400A single phase service won’t cut it for large-scale equipment requiring three phase service and a bunch of amps.

Storage requirements can also play a factor. Fire-proof cabinets, explosion-proof rooms, hoods, limited access,

and other regulation mandated spaces can have an impact on other operations. Also remember that most jurisdictions, as well as the Bureau of Cannabis Control (distributors and micro-businesses) and the California Department of Public Health (manufacturing) will require updates to floor and security plans, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and (for closed-loop systems) independent engineering certifications. Local Fire Departments will likely need revisions to CUPA (Certified Unified Program Agency) filings and possibly on-site inspections. There are some real land mines here that impact not just the bottom line but the ability to bring increased capacity fully on-line.

EquipmentEquipment selection is critical to successful scaling. It is also the point at which your company is at greatest risk of failure. Here is where growth or acquisition of capital relative to acceleration of the marketplace presents ‘all in’ situations for entrepreneurs that are not for the lighthearted. Pilot-scale equipment is incredibly expensive, has a relatively steep learning curve, and will not be plug and play.

There are two main options here. Save some money and roll the dice on Chinese equipment hoping it lasts long enough to be able to afford the good stuff or sacrifice potential capacity for reliability.

Having been through both scenarios, I offer this. If you like solving puzzles, enjoy mechanical tinkering, have a penchant for logic and problem solving, the patience of Job, and embrace the reality that everything will break, then saving the money on Chinese equipment can be a HUGE advantage. We saved $100k on a system with the ability to double the capacity of domestic equipment; after 3 months of intense tinkering we have it down. If you have the capital and are looking for longer-term reliability, better performance, and vastly improved technical support, the domestic guys are your best bet.

By Jason Boze, Stratum Brands Inc.

Scaling: From Benchtop to Pilot


When selecting sizes of equipment, assess your demand. Large-scale equipment can produce enormous amount of product. How much will you be able to sell in the next 1, 3, or 6 months? If you have a backlog of 100 liters of distillate, buy the VTA(s); for no backlog or a small-scale or nascent brand, the gamble on the Chinese gear could be worth it. Also know that most of the larger equipment will be subject to a 25% tariff. Thanks for that, Trump.

Consider your specific needs. Then look at what process manufacturers offer as solutions. What components are there, what do they cost, and is it worth their mark up to choose it and configure it on a skid? Many solutions are little more than the assemblage of fairly standard lab equipment that can be sourced individually and configured at a much lower cost. Line that up with what you expect to generate in terms of gross margins and size the solution accordingly. There is a huge opportunity here to gain an edge on the competition by substantially lowering capital requirements per unit of productivity; with the Chinese gear, just know what you are getting into.

Equipment selection is such a critical factor, so spend enough time and get as much input from consultants or collaborators to help you to choose wisely.

Also expect changes to virtually every parameter. The physics of small- and large-scale equipment is fundamentally rooted in the same properties but does not translate exactly. Temperature differences between recirculating heaters and chillers and reaction chambers will likely be different. Larger systems may have vacuum degradation and inconsistencies that smaller systems won’t have. Bottom line: expect to make tweaks to most aspects of your SOPs.

ConsumablesWith any manufacturing operation, there are the oft overlooked consumables. Aside from storage and cost considerations, certain consumables may trigger a need to adjust one or more permits. How horrible would it be to spend a small fortune on equipment only to find you aren’t permitted or can’t source the volumes of solvents, adsorbents, filtration media, etc.? The fines alone (in California) for exceeding certain permit limitations could be enough to close most businesses. Waste disposal of consumables is another consideration. What does your local jurisdiction mandate? How do increases in volumes affect your ability to maintain compliance?




BiomassAt the core of extraction is the biomass. Scaled operations require proportionately more biomass to keep equipment running at capacity. The production capability of most pilot-scale equipment exceeds many people’s ability to secure consistent amounts of biomass. Make sure your existing relationships and, more importantly, your buying power can support the new scale.

PeopleGenerally, larger scale requires either automation or people to pull the levers and turn the gears. Consider the availability of the labor with the required skill sets that would be willing to work at your location. Several jurisdictions have rules about entering into labor peace agreements with unions once employee counts exceed certain levels. Unions typically come with significant employer cost and reductions of company productivity which must be factored into the decision to expand. Consider whether the additional cost and overhead of working with union labor can fit within your proforma.

FinancialAfter equipment has been set up, permits have been obtained, facilities prepared, and people have been hired, the real spending begins. All that new equipment needs biomass, consumables, packaging, testing, and a litany of other expenses to be effective. As an example, to keep a 1L/hour wiped film machine (used for making distillate) running for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month requires around $500k in biomass, more than twice the cost of a VTA wiped film set up.

It is imperative to balance inventory production velocity with the fluctuating level of capitalization and sales. The worst thing to happen is to get a lab set up and have a ton of money tied up in idle inventory. Scaling is an exciting time in a company’s evolution, however; as is typical to the evolutionary process, there will be some that succeed and some that fail and die off. Ironically, only the regulators can continually fail and somehow never die off. But that is the topic for an entirely different editorial.

T H E O R I G I N A L

T O U R


Dear Reader,As we have done in past issues (Jahan Marcu, Ph.D., Andy Joseph, and Dr. Jerry King), we’re continuing to pick at the brains of our advisory board, to illustrate who these folks are, why they’ve elected to be involved in the cannabis/hemp industry, and why their expertise is invaluable to our publications. The conversation below is with John Roelke of Extract Consultants.

JL: So, John, what brought you to the cannabis industry? What were you doing prior? Why do you want to dedicate your education and resources to this industry?

JR: Extract Consultants was formed by one of my best friends and his son. As it grew, they brought old friends together from different industries. We all bring different strengths to the table. I came in from the food and beverage industry. I am a professionally trained chef who has worked in all areas of food. My last job before Extract Consultants was as Vice President of Continental Sausage in Denver, Colorado, which I did for 7 years.

The opportunity that was offered to me in 2016 was too good to refuse. Working with an intelligent team that has foresight, integrity, professionalism, and years of intellectual property was attractive. The real topper was to work in a new industry and with a plant I love. There are very few times in history to jump in on a new industry. Automobiles, TV’s, computers, and now Cannabis. A dream for sure.

JL: How have you seen this industry evolve? What have been the highlights, both in general, and for you personally?

JR: The main areas of evolution that I see are professionalism, education and regulation. In early 2016, the industry still clung to its underground roots. While still a loose and fun industry, the look, the approach,

and the business practices have grown immensely. Folks are understanding the importance of brand reputation, marketing, and perception. Websites, gear, and clothing have a much more professional look. Cannabis is big business and needs to be approached that way no matter the size and goals of your brand.

Folks in our space are becoming more educated by the day about the cannabis plant and how to use it. They better understand the molecules that make up the plant — all the THC and CBD varieties, the terpenes, esters, aldehydes, and hydrocarbons and their effects, and how to use those molecules to drive your brand and post-extraction products in the desired direction. Companies are much better at marketing their brands/products as well.

A highlight for us at Extract Consultants is the beginning of regulations on the terpene and flavor side of things. While currently a bumpy road, we are excited that the different


The Good Word According to John


regulatory bodies in the various states are beginning to pay attention to what is going into vapes and other post-extraction products. We welcome regulations for many reasons, the main one being safety, followed by standards. While things are still working themselves out regulatory-wise, we appreciate the evolving movement.

JL: What’s your take on the vaping conundrum? How can someone investigate things like organic claims, or what’s in products like terpenes/essential oils?

JR: It is an unfortunate situation, that’s for sure. We believe that this was a wakeup call for more regulations and killing the black market. We also believe that, until regulations occur on a more consistent and national level, there are a few things that manufactures can do to help protect their brands.

a) Strongly vet all potential suppliers. Make sure they have the certifications and regulatory paperwork that can stand up to scrutiny and protect your brand. Make sure they are reputable and have a strong regulatory staff. Require-batch specific certificates of analysis, food grade certifications, safety and technical data sheets, ingredient statements, residual statements, and any other statements that will protect your brand.

b) Don’t blindly trust what someone tells you. Good information can be hard to come by in the terpene/flavor space. If a supplier tells you something, get their documentation to prove it. Verify any and all claims such as organic (there are no organic terpenes), non-GMO [genetically modified organisms), all-natural etc.

c) Test any and all terpene and flavor products that come into their lab as a matter of quality control and brand protection.

d) Ask your suppliers for their help. Talk to them regarding your brands’ needs and what they can do to help support

you on the regulatory side. Regulations conversations should always be ongoing with your suppliers.

e) Stay away from all and any black-market suppliers.

JL: You’re omnipotent. What would you change about the industry?

JR: This is an easy one. I would make all forms of cannabis legal on the federal level. That would make doing business in our space so much easier. There would be consistent regulations, better banking, interstate commerce, etc. it would benefit our industries in many positive ways.

JL: It’s easy to geek out over cool cannabis science. What have you learned about the cannabis plant, or a product, that really amazed you?

JR: I’ve been really surprised at how much CBD/THC lotions help with arthritis. My 82-year old parents love using CBD/THC lotion on their hands and joints. It has been effective in a couple of ways-helping their arthritis and breaking down the old barriers and perceptions they had regarding how BAD cannabis supposedly was. They are now much more open to cannabis.

As for me, I have been impressed not so much by a product or specific idea, but by the rapid growth in ideas and by the number of different options for usage/intake that have been developed in a few short years. All the different vaporizers, lotions, edibles and tinctures are impressive. The variety has gone through the roof and, because of that, it will be easier for the industry to find the consumer accepted products, methods of usage, flavors, feelings, etc.

JL: If you could tell someone just one thing about terpenes, what would it be?



JR: In Cannabis sativa, THC and CBD are the engine, while the terpenes are the steering wheel. THC and CBD create the ‘high’, but the terpenes are what make that high so-called “sativa” or an “indica” highs. Terpenes potentiate cannabinoids via the entourage effect. Terpenes are also what give plants their aroma and taste. For example, when you smell pine trees, you are smelling alpha- and beta-pinene. While this may be two things about terpenes, they are the two major things terpenes do!

JL: What do you find to be rewarding about the manufacturing and sales of terpenes?

JR: We help folks bring exclusivity and consistency to their brands through flavor and effect. It’s great to see the wheels turn when we talk shop with our clients and let them know the ways we can support their brands using terpenes.

JL: At Concentration 2019, you said “they’ll grow cannabis on Mars before they do in Indiana.” Do you think that 2020 might bring legislation?

JR: With every election cycle, we will continue to see states voting to allow either medical or recreational cannabis. Due to its heavy agricultural influence and recent trade war with

China, growing hemp has been allowed. However, Indiana’s current governor has stated on several occasions, that cannabis is a gateway drug. Given these statements and Indiana’s overall conservative nature, cannabis will only become legal there when it’s made federally legal.

JL: You do a little bit of crystal gazing. What does 2020 bring us?

JR: I believe that 2020 will bring a few things:

1) New states will come online, new products will be developed, and new entrepreneurs will continue to invest.

2) To diversify risk and increase sales, ancillary manufacturers will look to expand outside the US into Canada and beyond.

3) While CBD/hemp regulations are uncertain, this market will continue growing and help change perceptions of the cannabis plant.

4) Regulations will continue to evolve from state to state.

5) The education level among consumers will continue to improve as they seek safe alternatives to conventional medicines.


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We’ve Always BEEN HIGHContextualizing the Entheogenic History of Cannabis

Madness Wanes - Science and Reality Sustains

Reefer MADNESS

Featuring the Superpowers of

Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger

PROHIBITION IS OVER

I www.terpenesandtesting.com

TERPENES HORTICULTURE CHEMISTRY ANALYTICS

JAN/FEB 2020

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THE DEVIL'S LETTUCE CONCEPT HAS ROTTED

The Vanishing Fog in the YEAR OF PERFECT VISION

A PUBLICATION

Developing Better Products through Natural Chemistry

Penta Manufacturing CompanyA Division of Penta International Corporation

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■ BETA-DAMASCONE

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■ MESITYL OXIDE

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■ OCTYL BUTYRATE

■ OLEIC ACID

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■ XYLITOL

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■ ZINGERONE

PF1803_penta_glass-strawberry.indd 1 1/31/18 2:35 PM

Publisher MACE Media Group

CEO Celeste Miranda

Editor-in-Chief Jason S. Lupoi, Ph.D.

Authors: Jason S. Lupoi, Ph.D.

Carlton Bone Lance Griffin Guy Rocourt

Stacia Woodcock, PharmD Jan Roberts, DSW, LCSW

Jahan Marcu, Ph.D. Dustin Mahon

Kyle Boyar

Designer Marko Nedeljkovic

Advertising: Julian Azevedo

Contents

120804

162022

Reefer Madness

We’ve Always Been High

The Vanishing Fog in the Year of Perfect Vision

Prohibition Is Over. It’s Time to Stop Demonizing Cannabis

A Science-Driven Approach to Clinical Education on Cannabis

2426

The Word According to the Board: The Harry Resin Edition

Pharmacogenomics for the Cannabis User

Educating the Industry! The Future of Cannabis is Here

The deleterious effects of the War on Drugs from a cannabis perspective pervade our society. Many doctors aren’t educated on the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which means they can’t properly treat disorders emanating from an ECS imbalance. [1] Some believe that depression stems from an ECS imbalance [2], while pioneering research from Jahan Marcu, Ph.D. and co-authors [3] and other research groups [4] have demonstrated the ECS’s involvement in combating cancer.

Our ancient ancestors knew about Cannabis sativa, though. Ancient Egyptians have been reported to have

used cannabis (called shemshemet) in various medical applications for conditions like depression

and inflammation, as a poultice, as a vermicidal [5], and in tribute to Seshat, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, who is depicted with a seven-leafed plant above her head. Other legendary

cultures like the Mayans and Incas are also said to have used cannabis [6], but even more recent ancestors recognized the plant’s utility.

Cannabis was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1850 through 1942. [7] Thus, physicians during this epoch recognized and witnessed the plant’s medicinal power. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, while not making the plant outright illegal, levied a $100/oz tax on the transport of the plant to the general public. While we can ponder what might have been should this irrationality have never happened, we can readily see the mushrooming Reefer Madness that prevented droves of people from utilizing a plant.

The real Reefer Madness wasn’t from those consuming it, but rather from an uneducated, ignorant, and/or deceitful sliver of humanity that chose to spread lies rather than progress lives. This isn’t being exaggeratedly melodramatic. I know people who could have benefitted from this plant in my lifetime, and I know you do as well. Thus, the damage that a small number of people initiated, further made “viral” by the characteristic


The Vanishing Fog in the Year of Perfect Vision

4 TERPENES & TESTING

Madness Wanes, Science and Reality Sustains

mass media hysteria we’re so accustomed to, is the real crime; not a dimebag.

Cannabis’s efficacy as a medicine has never really been doubted, though. Common drug companies created cannabis-derived extracts in the early 1900s. They researched cannabis’s phyto-pharmacy, and even created synthetic, legal delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), such as Marinol®, in drug synthesis labs.

Some of this research occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the scientific literature is bespeckled with

these examples. But then, Richard Nixon happened. Hunter S. Thompson wrote: “By disgracing and degrading the Presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart of the American Dream.” [8] Nixon initiated the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. This solidified the demonization of the plant as a Schedule I drug, which means a substance with no known medicinal value. Other Schedule I drugs include peyote, 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin, all substances that are witnessing a resurgence of medicinal investigation. Interestingly, fentanyl, which the Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists as 50-100x more potent than morphine, is Schedule II. A 2019 CDC article reports 1,663 fentanyl-based deaths in 2011 increased to 18,335 in 2016. [9]

John Erlichman, Nixon’s domestic policy chief, has gone on record saying, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with [cannabis] and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” [10]

A-ha! There’s an on-the-record statement from the Nixon administration that proves their political policy was focused on race and socioeconomic status instead of phytochemistry. Regardless of this admission, cannabis and THC continued to be ostracized during the Reagan years, a revolutionary time for the wonderfully angst-driven music like hip-hop and metal that often succinctly characterized the dissent of the masses. The television commercials depicting eggs cracked into frying pans, though, implied that illicit drugs would scramble your brain, which likely is true for many illegal and legal substances. But cannabis? Where’s the proof?

And if THC was the whisk that beat the eggs, why did the US government seek their patent on this molecule and other cannabinoids in 1998? [11] Although the patent has apparently recently expired, the US Department of Health and Human Services registered a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. We can pretend that cannabinoids synthesized in a lab or excreted by microorganisms are not the same as those naturally produced in a wonderfully alien-looking plant, but that would be false and rather silly. The cannabis plant has had millennia to evolve and perfect its own craft.

5TERPENES & TESTING


Perhaps the ancestral knowledge thought to exist in our genes includes an innate need for cannabis. [12] Perhaps the sight of the plant triggers a genetic predisposition that whispers “hey, you need this” for sorting out various imbalances and ailments. Maybe it’s about time that we listen to our own selves instead of talking heads and fear-mongers that seek to polarize us, deceive us, and unfortunately, whether unintended or not, keep us sick and tired and distracted.

Cannabis and other plants (and the beneficent molecules therein) are witnessing a resurgence in our modern culture, like the myriad of entheogenic compounds currently under impressive scientific investigation (e.g. dimethyltryptamine or psilocybin). When you extricate yourself from the media-created detritus that distorts reality, and you listen to the tangible experiences of real people, it’s easy to see that “drug-crazed abandon” or the burning weed with its roots stretching to hell is gibberish that shouldn’t be taken seriously. The global fog dissipates.

Sure, there are anomalies that may fit some perverse mold concocted by people with nefarious intentions. But most cannabis users aren’t out looking for a bar-fight like many imbibers of alcohol.

There’s not 480,000 of them dying each year from lung cancer like cigarette smokers. [13] Comparatively, cannabis offers a sense of balance, of homeostasis. It personifies a return to a more earthly, peaceful way of life.

And just as the cannabinoids and terpenes in the plant prefer community over isolation (e.g. ensemble effects), a sizeable chunk of the people returning to this plant for business and therapy seem to understand this, constructing a cohesive community devoid of any involvement (yet) from the federal government that has disrespected us and the cannabis plant with 80+ years of indoctrination. This new year represents the year of perfect sight.

7TERPENES & TESTING

[1] Bearman, D. “The Systemic Lack of Education About the Endocannabinoid System Leads to Widespread Ignorance About Cannabis,” American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine, posted 02/10/2019; accessed 12/08/2019.

[2] Patel, S. and Hilliard, C. “Role of Endocannabinoid Signaling in Anxiety and Depression,” Curr Top Behav Neurosci., volume 1, 2009, 10.1007/978-3-540-88955-7_14. [journal impact factor = 2.61; cited by 27]

[3] Marcu, J. et al. “Cannabidiol enhances the inhibitory effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol on human glioblastoma cell proliferation and survival,” Mol Cancer Ther., volume 9, issue 1, 2010, p. 180–189. [journal impact factor = 4.856; cited by 70]

[4] Bifulco M. and Di Marzo V. “Targeting the endocannabinoid system in cancer therapy: a call for further research,” Nat Med, volume 8, 2002, p. 547–550. [journal impact factor = 32.621; cited by 179]

[5] Russo, E. “History of Cannabis and Its Preparations in Saga, Science, and Sobriquet,” Chemistry and Biodiversity, volume 4, 2007, p. 1614-1648. [journal impact factor = 1.449; cited by 199]

[6] Sayin, H. “The Consumption of Psychoactive Plants During Religious Rituals: The Roots of Common Symbols

and Figures in Religions and Myths,” NeuroQuantology, Volume 12(2), 2014, p. 276-296. [journal impact factor = 0.453; cited by 15]

[7] Bridgeman, M. and Abazia, D. “Medicinal Cannabis: History, Pharmacology, and Implications for the Acute Care Setting,” Pharmacy and Therapeutics, volume 42(3), 2017, p. 180-188. [journal impact factor = 11.127; cited by 34]

[8] Thompson, H. “He was a Crook,” Rolling Stone, written 06/16/1994; accessed 12/07/2019.

[9] Spencer, M. et al. “Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Fentanyl, 2011–2016,” National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 68(3), 03/21/2019.

[10] LoBianco, T. “Report: Aide says Nixon’s war on drugs targeted blacks, hippies,” CNN Politics, Uploaded on 03/24/2016; accessed on 12/07/2019.

[11] Hampson, A. et al. “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants,” 2003, US6630507B1.

[12] Treffert, D. “Genetic Memory: How We Know Things We Never Learned,” Scientific American, posted 01/28/2015, accessed 12/08/2019.

[13] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm

References


By Carlton Bone, Upward Cannabis Kitchen

Cannabis has existed for millennia. The number of cultures embracing the plant are as bountiful as its therapeutic applications. Less recognized, however, are the ancient applications of the plant as an entheogen. Entheogenic substances are psychoactive chemicals used in spiritual/religious contexts, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ayahuasca, datura, psilocybin, etc. Most contemporary uses of cannabis in the West largely fall outside this spiritual domain despite the historical precedent. However, outside of the Global North, entheogenic drug practices are the norm, as various healers and spiritual practitioners utilize these substances to invoke deeper connections and broader perspectives. [1]

Debates rage on surrounding cannabis’s role as an entheogenic substance. Some critics argue that it’s merely a drug and not a psychedelic or entheogen, while advocates point to the myriad of therapeutic applications and cannabis’s rich historical use within religious and spiritual ceremonies. [2] Such discussions, while lively, miss the point that cannabis, as a ubiquitous cultural artifact across space-time, has the potential to take on all of these values, and will retain different values to different consumers.

This article explores the development of cannabis through its various cultural applications as an entheogenic substance, including the historic and traditional uses of cannabis and hemp products across diverse, global cultures. From Ancient India to the African Continent during the 19th Century, cannabis consumption rituals have been utilized across various spiritual and religious contexts, prior to and alongside its proliferation as commodity. Understanding cannabis’s value as a cultural artifact is important to navigating renewed interest in the plant as a medical and industrial crop, given the ways culture and consumption practices are recursively informed. [3]

Indian SubcontinentThe earliest recorded evidence of cannabis use as a religious phenomenon comes from the Atharva Veda, a core Hindu text written between 1400-2000 BCE. The Vedas ascribed several properties to the plant including “Joy-Giver”, “Liberator”,

and “Source of Happiness”, while culturally, the plant was utilized in ceremonies from weddings to the festival of Diwali. [4] The plant makes appearances throughout the cultural texts and preparations of the plant for religious purposes are well-documented. Furthermore, in Tantric Buddhism, cannabis serves as an important part of a traditional ritual, serving as a catalyst for literal ecstasy, defined as a higher state of enlightenment and connectedness with a higher power. [5]

Cannabis preparations were as diverse as the applications, as scholars continue unearthing more functions of cannabis in ancient India. Preparative techniques are broken down into three main types, each with a distinct cultural legacy and history: bhang; gunjah; charas. [6]

Bhang has its direct roots in the text of the Vedas where it’s described as a preparation of dried cannabis (interpreted to mean leaves, stems, and flowers) in milk or water, often accompanied by black pepper and sugar. Gunjah, most like the cannabis flower we smoke today, referred to dried buds of selectively cultivated female plants. While this practice is often included in rituals, its origins are less clear. The third preparation, charas, is produced from the plant’s resins and can be considered the earliest version of hashish.

China While cannabis consumption was strictly ordered and well-documented in ancient Indian cultures according to religious and social values, hemp medicines in Chinese culture can be traced to more esoteric religious traditions. Some scholars argue that the suppression of traditional religious practices, such as entheogenic cannabis use, and the lack of documentation on their history, is the result of a regional secular turn marked by the rise of Confucianism, which stands at odds with Taoist precepts. [7] Interpretations of ancient Taoist religious texts and traditional Chinese medicine guides have given credence to the idea that cannabis has psychodynamic and hallucinogenic properties that aid in religious practices such as trance meditation and visualization. The extent to which the plant was utilized in such practices compared to more utilitarian applications remains shrouded.

We’ve Always Been HighContextualizing the Entheogenic History of Cannabis

According to Archaeologist Hui-Lin Li, “The use of Cannabis as a hallucinogenic drug by necromancers or magicians is especially notable. In ancient China, as in most early cultures, medicine has its origin in magic. Medicine men were practicing magicians.” [8] Farmers and peasants used hemp-based clothing, and pharmacopoeias of the period discuss traditional medical applications. Archeologists discovered a number of wooden brazzers and burial shrouds from gravesites in China dated to 2500 BCE that had trace amounts of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) residue, which may evidence cultivation techniques and consumption rituals in line with religious applications alongside the industrial and nutritional purposes of the plant. [9]

Central Asia and The Middle EastA corner of the contemporary mytho-historical narrative of cannabis involves tales of hash-laced assassins who used the plant resin as part of their cultural practice. [10] Arguably, this narrative was influenced by Orientalist and colonial attitudes of European explorers whose industrial applications of the plant stood at odds with psychoactive applications. This period of cannabis globalization marks a rapid diffusion of styles and practices that depict multicultural entheogenic relationships with cannabis mediated by the influence of various empires. [11]

For example, evidence of the various relationships people had with Cannabis can be found in firsthand accounts from the period, from biblical references of cannabis as a sacrament used by Abraham, to accounts of the Scythians using cannabis in steam baths, and archaeological evidence of Arabs using the plant for fatigue. [12] While many decoctions and applications of cannabis resin are documented within Islamic culture during this period, smoking and consuming hashish as modes of cannabis consumption quickly spread across Earth, and stayed a staple in European cannabis circles well into the 21st century. [13]

The African Continent Africa arguably has had the greatest impact on the globalization of cannabis as an entheogen. In addition to helping facilitate the spread of the plant to the new world and its eventual commodification, different groups throughout Africa made their own mark on the plant. From the kief-based hashish smoking dens of Morocco to tribal smoking rites south of the Sahara, cannabis can be connected to a myriad of religious groups and practices in ways that complicate traditional narratives of globalization. While the commercial interests in hemp certainly dovetailed with entheogenic applications, the gaps between these two created opportunities

9TERPENES & TESTING


for new cultural relationships with the plant that continue to define contemporary attitudes on cannabis.

Important to African cannabis history is the notion that the narratives we have on cannabis consumption in Africa are largely Eurocentric. These narratives are liable to embellishment and conflation in line with the broader colonial attitudes of the period. This is an indomitable the broader barrier to authentically understanding some of the entheogenic applications of cannabis, and the impact of these viewpoints has been the marginalization of what consumption rituals across the African continent have contributed to modern consumption rituals.

This view is argued by Chris S. Duval in his cannabis historiography entitled The African Roots of Marijuana. Duval writes:

“African practices were overlooked partly because European writers framed the Levant as where psychoactive cannabis reached its cultural pinnacle. Cannabis consumption in the eastern Mediterranean region included sweet, hashish-based confections with lengthy recipes, such as majun. Edible cannabis concoctions that existed south of the Sahara were overlooked and uncommon anyway. Historical sub-Saharan societies were satisfied with smoking cannabis. Smoking transforms the plant drug as a pharmacological agent; its effects are felt quickly after inhaling, compared with a half-hour or more after eating cannabis-laced food. It is easy for smokers to control dosage but difficult for hashish eaters. Nonetheless, Europeans perceived this preference for smoking as backwardness. ‘Orientals use refined preparations of cannabis resin,’ reported a French traveler in 1889, but Central Africans only smoked “the rustic form” of mixed flowers, leaves, and seeds.” [14]

The AmericasMuch of cannabis culture in the Americas is bookended by the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and prohibition era that the idea of a distinct religious or entheogenic connection to cannabis is difficult. For many slaves, workers, and continental indigenous groups, cannabis was part of a broader folk tradition that encompassed entheogenic applications with wider health and wellbeing ideals. Indeed, the quintessential experience of smoking a joint can be directly traced through the advent of cannabis in the Americas and how various cultural groups

incorporated the plant into their lives. [15] Altogether, these practices helped inform the identities of diaspora groups, and their regulation was part of a broader project of social control that aimed to suppress religious and personal expressions.

This group, composed of enslaved Africans and displaced indigenous groups, inherited and crafted unique plant-people relationships as part of their constructed identity. This is why many advocates for legalization in Latin America have placed a focus on social equity in their crusade and why, “The larger problems related to cannabis stem not from its consumption, but from the (repressive) state responses that persist. It is therefore necessary to move ahead with regulatory systems for all uses of the [plant].” [16]

The history of cannabis contains as much medicine and industry as religion. The role of cannabis in new religious movements like Rastafarianism and the Church of Cannabis, serves as ample evidence of the historical continuity that cannabis as a cultural artifact with spiritual significance has been able to maintain. Cannabis consumption rituals understood as religious practices should be protected and respected as valuable embodiments of the diverse relationships people have formed with the plant.

Doing so may afford a novel path through regulatory dilemmas that plague countries in the Global North by circumventing questions of recreational and medicinal value. This is significant as these questions are irresolvable. This concept was discussed in a report drafted for the Canadian Government as it prepared to legalize cannabis: “It is only natural that cultural backgrounds obscure answers to scientific questions in regards to [cannabis]. . . Thus ‘the [cannabis] controversy is primarily a political, rather than a scientific debate’ because it pits morals against morals, that are informed by cultural backgrounds.” [17]

Understanding the role of entheogens in crafting drug policy will better position regulators and the public for the liberalization of other entheogens already being realized in North America through the advancement of 3,4-methyl -enedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA)-based research and psilocybin treatment facilities. Cannabis consumption, whether entheogenic in purpose or not, is better realized in a context that embraces the diversity of more personal and intimate relationships with the plant and its derivative products, from nutritional to spiritual, or recreational to medical.

11TERPENES & TESTING

[1] Lott-Schwartz, H. “5 Of the World’s Most Mind-Bending Drug Cultures,” National Geographic, posted 01/25/2019, accessed 12/11/2019.

[2] Brodwin, E. “Some Psychiatrists Think Cannabis Can Be Considered a Psychedelic Drug like Shrooms - Here’s Why,” Business Insider, posted 07/05/2017, accessed 12/11/2019.

[3] Spriggs, M. “High Culture: Reflections on Addiction and Modernity,” Journal of Medical Ethics 2004, volume 30: e11, book review.

[4] Warf, B. “High Points: An Historical Geography of Cannabis”, Geogr Rev, 2014, 104: 414-438. [journal impact factor = 0.750; cited by 31]

[5] Parker, R.C., and Lux. “Psychoactive Plants in Tantric Buddhism: Cannabis and Datura Use in Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism.” Erowid Buddhism Vaults: Psychoactive Plants in Tantric Buddhism, Erowid Extracts, posted 06/2008, accessed 12/11/2019.

[6] Touw, M. “The religious and medicinal uses of Cannabis in China, India and Tibet”, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 1981, 13(1): 23-34. [journal impact factor = 1.740; cited by 96]

[7] Clarke, R. and Merlin, M. Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany. 2013, University of California Press.

[8] Li, H. “An Archaeological and Historical Account of Cannabis in China”, Economic Botany, 1974, Volume 28.4: Pages 437-448. [journal impact factor = 1.109; cited by 143]

[9] Donahue, M. “Earliest Evidence for Cannabis Smoking Discovered in Ancient Tombs.” National Geographic, posted 06/12/2019, accessed 12/11/2019.

[10] Daftary, F. The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma’ills, 1974, I.B.Tarius, London.

[11] Zuardi, A. “History of Cannabis as a Medicine: a Review.” Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 2006, Vol.28(2): 153-157. [journal impact factor = 1.593; cited by 199]

[12] Nahas G. “Hashish in Islam: 9th Century to 18th Century”, Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 1982, 58(9): 814-831. [journal impact factor = 1.959; cited by 28]

[13] Cannoli, F. “Hashishin ‘Users/Eaters of Hashish’ Words by Frenchy”, Weed World Magazine, uploaded 04/03/2019, accessed 12/09/2019.

[14] Duval, C. The African Roots of Marijuana, 2019, Duke University Press, Durham and London.

[15] Chasteen, J. Getting high: marijuana through the ages, 2016, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham.

[16] Corda, A. and Fusero, M. “Cannabis in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Punishment to Regulation,” Drug Policy Briefing 48, Transnational Institute, September 2016.

[17] Spicer, L. “Historical and Cultural uses of Cannabis and The Canadian Marijuana Clash,” Report for the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, Library of Parliament. April 2002.

References

By Lance Griffin

Racist. Fear-monger. Tyrant of US drug policy. Villain of the 21st century. Harry J. Anslinger: The name enrages cannabis advocates with unbridled loathing. Anslinger’s mission? A most diabolical scheme: criminalize cannabis, lock up jazz musicians, and rule the world! At least, rule the world with zealotry and fear. Move over, Lex Luthor — there’s a new arch-nemesis in town.

In villain hierarchy, Anslinger was the evil genius. During the 1920s, the era of alcohol prohibition, he worked in the Bahamas to catch American rumrunners. Anslinger believed in Prohibition. He felt that larger fines and longer prison sentences were the solution to the alcohol problem. An agent in the Division of Foreign Control, he also studied international narcotics smuggling. [1]

Locking up both alcohol and narcotics offenders posed a challenge for the United States Treasury. [1] So in 1930,

President Herbert Hoover formed the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) and appointed Anslinger as the Commissioner. Politicians with a vested interest in narcotics enforcement encouraged his appointment —Anslinger had earned reputation as an uncompromising enforcer. [1]

Anslinger thus inherited the nation’s first narcotics enforcement agency. It was a mere shadow of today’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). But our super-villain had big plans for the FBN.

Anslinger’s ambition was a mysterious and unyielding fire. He reminisced of several experiences that marked him as boy, including the death of a choirboy friend who smoked opium. [2] Around age 12, he passed by the house of a screaming opium addict; the addict’s husband sent little Anslinger to the pharmacy to buy more. [1]

But such explanations lack the power of a proper origin story and, as we’ll see, fail to explain his ruthless annihilation of cannabis. (Editor’s Note: Anslinger was from Altoona, Pennsylvania, about two hours east of Pittsburgh. And the yes-men and women that tossed Tommy Chong in jail for selling glassware also heavily involved Western PA fuzz. Madness...)

When Anslinger took the position, he did not consider cannabis a threat. [3] But the FBN desperately needed funding, so, he developed a plan: outlaw cannabis to legitimize the FBN and bring home the bacon. His tools were racism, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and false information. With these weapons, he transformed cannabis from a benign concern beyond the

Reefer MadnessFeaturing the Superpowers of Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger

Timeline. Fair Use. Harry J. Anslinger, 1958


average American’s experience to a sensationalized national public threat. [3]

Anslinger’s most racist remarks include “reefer makes [African Americans] think they’re as good as white men.” [4] He is also commonly credited with saying, “Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers.” Their satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana usage.” [5] Some dispute the validity of such quotes [6], and primary sources linking the quote to Anslinger are lacking — perhaps his more inflammatory remarks were uttered in private speeches to receptive organizations.

The quotes do, however, reflect Anslinger’s documented attitudes. In a 1934 memo, he spewed more racist gibberish that was shocking enough that Senator Joseph Guffey of Pennsylvania called for Anslinger’s resignation, but he persevered with the help of his supporters.

Anslinger’s master plan also painted cannabis as a drug that induced extraordinary violence. He penned articles about the dangers of cannabis, and one was made into a film. “Marijuana, Assassin of Youth” centers on a young girl who uses cannabis several times then becomes stressed about school and jumps from a window to her death. [9] The film adaptation features similar cannabis-fueled destruction. [10]

Anslinger is not explicitly credited for the film Reefer Madness, but it was certainly born from his reign of terror. This infamous film depicts the tragic downfalls of three jazz-loving cannabis users. [11] The convoluted tale ends as Anslinger penned: the lead heroine jumps from a window to her death. [11] Sure, he had a little help from his friends. Sidekick William Randolph Hearst, a media mogul with forest holdings (i.e.,



wood pulp used for paper production), spearheaded a fake news movement (known as yellow journalism). [12] Anti-immigration headlines were an easy sell. After all, Mexican migrants from the Mexican Revolution were completely unwelcome during the Great Depression. [11] The New York Times reported in 1934 that: “Marihuana, perhaps now the most insidious of our narcotics, is a direct by-product of unrestricted Mexican immigration… Mexican peddlers have been caught distributing sample marihuana cigarettes to school children.” [13]

Anslinger’s triumph came with the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and federal prohibition of cannabis. In the federal hearing for the Act, Anslinger stated that “opium has all of the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde. This drug [cannabis] is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured.” [14] That sealed the deal. Cannabis was prohibited and incarcerations began shortly thereafter.

Anslinger went down fighting. He never budged. His 1961 article “Hemp Around Their Necks” stated in no uncertain terms that “much of the most irrational juvenile violence and that has written a new chapter of shame and tragedy is traceable directly to this hemp intoxication.” [15]

His legacy is one of lost lives and mass incarceration. His articles and letters echo the self-possession and blazing passion of a man who is either addicted to his own ignorance or, more likely, addicted to his own power.

But the battle continues. In 2018, the DEA publicly promoted Anslinger and his work on Twitter. [16] On the other hand, the film Reefer Madness became a satiric hit among cannabis advocates. It was even adapted into a comedic musical. [17]

Retail & Bulk Available

[1] McWilliams, JC. “Unsung Partner against Crime: Harry J. Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 1930-1962.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 113, no. 2, 1989, pp. 207-236. [Times Cited = 3]

[2] Abel, EL. “Outlawing Marihuana.” Marihuana. Boston, Springer, 1980.

[3] Moran, Thomas J. “Just a Little Bit of History Repeating: The California Model of Marijuana Legalization and How it Might Affect Racial and Ethnic Minorities.” Wash. & Lee J. Civ. Rts. & Soc. Just., vol.17, no.2, 2011. [Times Cited = 1]

[4] Brown, E, and George Barganier. “The Problem of Urban America.” Race and Crime: Geographies of Injustice, California, University of California Press, 2018.

[5] Schlussel, D. “The Mellow Pot-Smoker: White Individualism in Marijuana Legalization Campaigns.” Calif. L. Rev., vol.885, 2017, https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38PZ51K8D. [Journal Impact Factor = 2.155; Times Cited = 2]

[6] “The Complicated Legacy of Harry Anslinger.” Penn Stater Magazine. January/February 2018.

[7] Sloman, Larry. Reefer Madness: The History of Marijuana in America. St. Martins Griffin, 2018.

[8] United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives

on H.R. 1625, Mail Order Drug Paraphernalia Control Act, May 8th, 1986. 99th Cong. 2nd sess. Washington: 1987.

[9] Anslinger, HF. “Marijuana — Assassin of Youth.” The Reader’s Digest. February 1938.

[10] Marihuana: Assassin of Youth. Directed by Elmer Clifton. BCM Roadshow Productions, 1937.

[11] Reefer Madness. Directed by Louis J. Gasnier. George A. Hirliman Productions, 1936.

[12] Gerber, JR. Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics, Connecticut, Praeger, 2004.

[13] Musto, DF. “The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.” Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, vol.26, no.2, 1972, pp. 101-108, doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1972.01750200005002. [Journal Impact Factor = 15.916; Times Cited = 7]

[14] The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. “Statement of H.J. Anslinger.” Schaffer Library of Drug Policy, 1937.

[15] Anslinger, HJ, and Will Oursler. “Hemp Around Their Necks.” The Murderers, New York, Schaffer Library of Drug Policy, 1961.

[16]@DEAHQ. “Harry Anslinger helped bring drug law enforcement into the modern age. He served as head of US drug enforcement for 5 presidents…” Twitter, March 8, 2018, 3:04 PM.

[17] Clary, Jennifer. “‘Reefer Madness, The Musical’ Redone as Satirical Commentary.” Source, Apr 2016, https://source.colostate.edu/reefer-madness-musical-redone-satirical-commentary/.

References



April 14, 1937 was the day that safe access to cannabis died. It was the day the Marijuana Tax Act was introduced to Congress. The principal author of the bill was the same man that said, “Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death,” and strategically stirred Reefer Madness into the hearts and minds of Americans for the next three decades. The man was, of course, Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Anslinger used fear, racism, and misinformation as primary tactics to demonize and ultimately prohibit cannabis on the federal level. It wasn’t until 21 years after his death that the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 in California legalized cannabis medicinally.

Prohibition had finally taken its first major body blow, and the ripple formed a wave of legalization and decriminalization that is still spreading across the United States to this day. But even in 2020, the battle to educate consumers and unpack the misinformation campaigns of prohibition rages on. Laws are changing, but minds and hearts have stayed very much the same, and it is our responsibility as the people within the cannabis industry to lead the charge of progress. It is our primary duty to provide safe access while dismantling 80 years of rhetoric that sought to demonize cannabis and aggressively punish anyone who felt differently.

The demonization of cannabis stems from systems of indoctrination fueled by manufactured hysteria and fear. The current cannabis industry is analogous of race relations in the United States when the civil rights act passed in 1964— racism still exists because of the use of dirty vernacular— and the same principles are at work for cannabis. It is those very principles that we must deconstruct to move forward.

The closest similarity that comes to mind would be how the language surrounding alcohol prohibition had to change; we no longer call breweries and manufacturers of spirits bootleggers or refer to bars as speakeasies. Let our first acts as a progress-minded industry be to challenge the language of prohibition and normalize cannabis for what it truly is: a medicine.

We must stop using the word marijuana to define the plant and refrain from using the phrase black market. In place of marijuana, we should use the plant’s Latin designation of cannabis, and in place of black market, we need the term traditional market, which acknowledges the generations of individuals that continued advocating, growing, cultivating, and providing safe access at great personal risk to life and property. We must strive to remind people that the terms marijuana and black market are mired historically in racism, bigotry, and fear, and serve only as forms of indoctrination. It may seem like a small point of contention to change these phrases, but if we are to determine our agency as an industry and grow, then we must evolve the way we speak and honor the people that made legalization possible.

Beyond changing our speech, we must also actively participate in dismantling the stigmas and outright demonization of cannabis and its primary cannabinoid delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). As we move towards real safe access again, we need to reinforce the efficacy of cannabis as medicine and the benefits of THC as a cannabinoid. A growing problem I see every day in the cannabis industry is the separation of THC from the growing popularity of CBD. CBD as a commodity has skyrocketed consumer demand for cannabis products, while THC is stigmatized and relegated as a negative component of the plant.

The separation of THC from CBD in the marketplace is causing a faultline in the efficacy of the plant. This stigma is because THC has psychoactive properties and the initial stigmas about ‘getting high’ are still pervasive in consumer’s minds. But we don’t ask the same question of psychoactivity of other analgesics or prescription medications like Xanax®, hydrocodone, and Percocet®.

What it really comes down to is dosing responsibly: cannabis is a powerful analgesic, so don’t take too much of it. This is the case for most things we intake from alcohol to pharma. Responsible consumption and guidance about dosing are the only answers to this stigma. We have everything we need

By Guy Rocourt, Papa & Barkley

Prohibition Is Over. It’s Time to Stop Demonizing Cannabis


to have a thriving program and industry, yet companies are still using packaging with the words THC FREE and playing off the fears of intoxication by THC. Another example of a common stigma of cannabis involves confusing consumers by talking about how hemp-based CBD is somehow different from cannabis-based CBD. This sort of misinformation is as irresponsible as it is false, and industry leaders must maintain constant vigilance to educate the public. (Editor’s note: Amen.)

The specter of prohibition is clearly to blame but operating in a legal market means the scarcity of safe and effective products are no longer an issue. During an unregulated market, like the one we had during prohibition, people wanted one-hit wonders— the strongest potential cannabis— because they wouldn’t know when they could have access again. A regulated and legalized market not only means safe access, but it also ensures that more balanced medicines are coming out every day. It means standardized amounts, rigorous standards of testing, and a focus on quality over potency as the measure of success. It ultimately means people receive medicine that will change the way they manage their pain while improving their lives. All of us in the industry have a responsibility to meet consumer demand with the most efficacious and cleanest products possible.

At Papa & Barkley, we set a standard of clean cannabis, which means no chemicals are ever used, from input ingredients to end product. We go through great lengths to

source the best possible ingredients, partner with farms who grow using organic and regenerative farming methods and scale a solventless lipid infusion process to preserve all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, terpenes and phytonutrients. It isn’t unreasonable to set a higher bar for ourselves; it is requisite for our growth as an industry. The strongest smoke and edibles are simply a function of scarcity and prohibition and are no longer necessary. People aren’t looking for one shot of liquor to put them down, one cup of coffee to wake them up, one meal to feed themselves for the day— we don’t need to adhere to the concept of the strongest cannabis possible. We need to take a measured step with how we provide safe access not through strength and potency but through focusing on quality.

It is important to remain forward-thinking. Our industry needs continued leadership. We need to believe there is a higher standard, and we must reach for a better industry. Whether you are a grower, farmer, budtender, researcher, policy wonk, activist, advocate, patient, manufacturer, or Chief Product Officer— we are all stewards of the plant and its future. What we do every day in this industry has a far-reaching impact. Our actions are vitally important because we are at the beginning. The cannabis industry is in its infancy, and the way we conduct ourselves in positions of leadership resonates because the marketplace is new and small. We have a responsibility to the future and a responsibility to hold the integrity of safe access together. But it’s not just on us either. We need to work with regulators, comment


on industry policy, and challenge legislators to respond accordingly. Now is the time to listen; now is the time to lead. Prohibition is over. It’s time to empower ourselves and stop demonizing cannabis.

About the author:Guy Rocourt is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer for Papa & Barkley, the leading California cannabis wellness company. At Papa & Barkley, Guy is responsible for optimizing production practices, ensuring the company complies with rigorous testing and lab standards, and developing the product roadmap as the brand continues to expand into different areas of the cannabis marketplace. Previously, Guy designed and built manufactured infused product facilities (MIPs) in multiple states, making him an expert in cannabis science, tech, strategy, and production. Due to his vast experience, he is an asset to those hoping to invest in the space. He also has experience caring for patients with Cannabis. Guy graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a U.S. Navy veteran.

Rocourt uses his keen understanding of the cannabis plant, cannabis culture, and business acumen to craft a variety of wellness products and is on a mission, like Papa & Barkley, to unlock the power of the plant to improve people’s lives. Rocourt is passionate about advocating for safe access to cannabis through public speaking and maintaining an authentic space within cannabis culture even as Papa & Barkley continues to grow.


Most clinicians lack knowledge about the endocannabinoid system and its impact on mood regulation. Historically, clinicians have expressed a desire to learn more about this issue and demonstrated little knowledge about topics such as cannabis dosing/microdosing, the biphasic effect of cannabis, and how exactly cannabis interacts with the body to exert its effects.

When asking questions about local medical cannabis programs, it appears that Canadian clinicians have more knowledge about their medical cannabis programs than their counterparts in the United States (publication in process). This may reflect poor clinical educational offerings as part of the clinician certification process in each state, the confusion surrounding the differing cannabis regulations from state to state, or the increased stigmatization of cannabis that exists in the US because of its illegal status at the federal level.

The International Research Center on Cannabis and Health (IRCCH), based in New York, recently completed a pilot study assessing mental health clinicians’ knowledge and attitudes regarding cannabis and cannabinoids (n=60; publication in process). The primary aim of this study was to measure attitudes and knowledge about various topics related to cannabis and the endocannabinoid system. The secondary aim of the study was to apply this data to the development of clinical education targeted at the areas of opportunity the study revealed.

Our preliminary findings demonstrate that stigma continues to play a role in how clinicians view cannabis and also

suggests that clinicians are lacking specific education regarding the clinical applications and pharmacology of cannabis products. The majority of clinicians in this study did not agree with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s designation of cannabis as a Schedule I substance, and clinicians overwhelmingly indicated that prohibition policy has targeted minorities unfairly. Regardless of their acknowledgement that cannabis policy has been socially unjust, the study data reveals that clinicians’ views on medical cannabis use in practice may reflect their own internalized bias. Societal and/or internalized stigmatization may play a role in how clinicians view medical cannabis use and when/how they implement it into their practice.

According to study data, although clinicians felt that cannabis was safer than alcohol, some felt that simply using cannabis, regardless of intoxication level or lack of personal distress, could indicate abuse. A potential question for future research may be how much the stigma around cannabis influences whether a clinician views it under the guise of abuse.

The majority of clinicians also believed that cannabis has medicinal value, but indicated they were far more likely to recommend treating physical conditions with cannabis than mental health conditions. In addition, cannabis was more likely to be recommended to treat the symptoms resulting from cancer treatment (such as nausea, pain, or insomnia) than for the individual symptoms themselves without cancer comorbidity. This may be a reflection of the perceived lack of stigma surrounding cannabis use in cancer care versus in a general medicine setting.

By Stacia Woodcock, PharmD, Jan Roberts, DSW, LCSW, and Jahan Marcu, Ph.D.

A Science-Driven Approach to Clinical Education on CannabisA New York-based Institute shares preliminary data on how health professional cannabis knowledge is guiding their educational program development


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Even more interesting is the preliminary data regarding the specific conditions practitioners were comfortable or uncomfortable using medical cannabis for (Figure 1). An overwhelming majority of clinicians were not comfortable using medical cannabis for opioid/illicit substance abuse, sexual issues, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression, nearly all of which have evidence of some level of clinical benefit from proper medical cannabis implementation.

These findings identified opportunities for educational programs and outlined the specific content lacking in most cannabis education offerings available today. The immediate need for tailored content for mental health professionals includes a social-science approach to the history of the plant, the endocannabinoid system, and the clinical applications of medical cannabis. With this data set in mind, the IRCCH has developed the first modules for mental health clinicians on cannabis driven by grant-funded educational and developmental research, which was approved by an Internal Review Board at New York University (courses available early 2020). This pilot study provides some initial information on mental health clinicians’ attitudes and knowledge about cannabis. However, further studies are needed in order to see if the data collected in this project is reflected in a larger study with more generalizable results.

Education and training are a moving target, and appropriately gathered survey data will become increasingly important as the regulatory and medicinal future of cannabis and hemp seems uncertain. With the changing landscape of medical cannabis and hemp use in the US and abroad, mental health clinicians need to have current scientific understanding of cannabis and issues that impact the therapeutic use of cannabis for patients.

The IRCCH applied measures to mental health clinicians’ attitudes and knowledge about cannabis and topics related to therapeutic use, and have used the data to identify and develop modules to address the gaps in clinician education. The findings seem to identify opportunities for educational programs about topics related to healthy cannabis use, the role of the endocannabinoid system in mood regulation, and, in the US, the specific regulations of medical cannabis programs in the individual states where clinicians practice.

This data is being used to shape the next phase of research on attitudes and knowledge of mental health clinicians regarding cannabis. The development of additional educational modules is being driven by research-based data which allows for the tailoring of topics for distinct medical fields and the optimization of content based upon the actual measurable needs of clinicians.

Figure 1


“Tell your Children” A.K.A. “The Burning Question” A.K.A. “Doped Youth” A.K.A Reefer Madness. The history of cannabis education is not a pretty picture. Fear mongering tactics by our own government demonized a plant that was so ingrained into our society, that our own constitution was written on it. A plant so incredible, that our own government, through the US Department of Agriculture, later produced a film (Hemp for Victory) to encourage farmers to grow Cannabis sativa for the war. Unfortunately they destroyed it and denied its existence once the war was over. Cannabis was almost completely removed from the history books. Thanks to the work of some incredible people, the truth is starting to surface. With the help of the internet and the sharing of indigenous knowledge, we now have access to information that allows us to make our own interpretations.

The Internet has been the source of the knowledge base of the current cannabis industry. We all know that everything you read on the internet is true, but what is the next step in knowledge? How do we further legitimize the industry?

For example, how does someone get an education in cannabis? I earned a degree in the school of hard knocks, as did many of us in the industry. I started with a glass tube and a can of Power 5, but that’s not the way for the future. I hope nobody has to go through the same education. The future is education through the proper accredited channels. A handful of schools have started skirting the issue, offering degrees in medicinal plant chemistry. A few have even offered courses in cannabis law or journalism, but these do not address the real needs that employers desire.

Do you know anyone that can run my extraction facility? As an extraction consultant, this is the number one question that I am presented with. The follow up question is always, “are they qualified?” There is a massive gap between what

employers want and what they have available to them in the cannabis industry. It is the fastest growing market in the United States. The only cannabis schools up to this point have not been nationally or regionally accredited and don’t hold much weight amongst business professionals. The industry is making a shift towards professional business. So where does that leave the workers?

Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in Sault Saint Marie, MI, has launched the first cannabis-focused associate’s and bachelor’s degree at an accredited institution. Students enrolled in programs at accredited universities are eligible for financial aid, and transfer credits are accepted. LSSU implemented not just one discipline, but three: Cannabis Chemistry, Cannabis Sciences and Cannabis Business. They are teaming up with ExtractionTek Solutions (ETS) to build the world’s first university cannabis extraction lab!

Students will receive hands on, real world experience in a legitimate extraction lab. One of the biggest barriers to

By Dustin Mahon

Educating the Industry! The Future of Cannabis is Here

entry into the industry is experience. This brings back the question of “how can I get experience if I can’t get access to the equipment?” Not only will students have access, but they will have certified trainings and access to proven industry professionals. Learning things right the first time is invaluable. The scariest person in a lab is someone who was taught incorrectly. A line I hear all too often in the industry is “I’ve been doing this for 10 years!” And while that is valuable if you have been correctly doing this for 10 years, 10 years of incorrect training is a long road to come back from.

This lab will feature equipment from top industry professionals. They will provide Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) trainings on their equipment. The students will then graduate with that OEM certification on their resume. These professionals will also be instrumental in the curriculum development as well as providing lectures and literature for the students.

LSSU will also be able to provide analytical research for an industry that desperately needs more. They have filled an application for registration under the Controlled Substance Act to be an analytical lab. Teaming up with Agilent Technologies with a multi-million-dollar suite of testing equipment, LSSU students will have training and access to the same equipment used in the industry. This provides a platform for research to be conducted and validated at a scholarly level. This is an area of the industry that has been heavily criticized.

Steven Johnson, Dean of the College of Science and the Environment at LSSU, reached out to ETS at about the same time that I joined the team. He wanted us to provide

consultation not only on the build out of the lab and the use of our equipment, but on our knowledge of the industry. I did my research. I thought it all sounded too good to be true. Hours later, I was on the phone with him. It was real and we

had to be part of it. It’s not every day something like this comes around.

I trekked into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to a gorgeous little city, just a stone’s throw

away from Canada. Steve picked me up to tour the university. It was awesome! He knew the students’ names and had an infectious energy. They had a beautiful lab set up with their analytical

equipment. A laboratory full of chemistry students was across the hall, with mantels and reflux apparatuses inside of C1D1 hoods. For someone without a

formal education and only cannabis labs for reference, it was super cool.

My new project was next door, and it was beautiful. I could see the future in front of me; a realm of solvent and mechanical extraction, filtration,

distillation, isolation, infusion. It was a dream come true! Student learning on proper equipment, with proper protections put in place and all for educational purposes. The future is now!

The education and opportunities provided through this program will shape the future of the industry. The next line of cannabis professionals will have degrees. Those of us who have put in

the hard work and got us to this point will not be forgotten. Like anything, the

future involves change and the change is what makes us grow.

LSSU students are currently enrolled in their first semester of cannabis

classes. Lab work begins in January. For more

information, email Steven Johnson at

sjohnson18@LSSU.

edu.



Our publications are very fortunate. Not only do we have people like you reading on the other end, but we have access to a wonderful array of people and expertise on our advisory boards. These fine people have offered up their brains and symbolic pens to us, and so, dear reader, we wanted you to get better acquainted with them to understand why we’ve selected them to help navigate the mothership. These conversations will be ongoing, and this edition regards Harry Resin, experienced cannabis cultivation expert with 17+ years in the industry. So, T&T readers, say hello to Harry.

T&T: Harry, what brought you to the cannabis industry? What were you doing prior?

HR: I moved to Amsterdam in the late 1990’s and happened to meet Soma, the world-renowned cannabis breeder, and someone named Ed Borg at the Green House Coffeeshop when I first moved there. That led to making Ice-o-lator hash for some of the Green House Coffeeshop and eventually Ed was looking for a partner with his seed company Delta-9 Labs. I jumped at the chance. Prior to that I worked in the film industry and studied cinema.

T&T: In your time in the industry, how have you seen it evolve? What are the highlights in general and for you personally?

HR: I’ve seen it evolve from a black-market industry into one with giant publicly traded companies. One main highlight is that cannabis is so

open these days and not feared. To be so open about it is a real pleasure.

T&T: As an experience grower, what’s more important to you? High potency from a cannabinoid perspective or a loud terpene bouquet?

HR: The key is striking the right balance between high and flavor.

T&T: You’re omnipotent. What would you change about the industry?

HR: If I could change anything about the industry, I would have it move away from this drive towards

corporatization. Unfortunately, because of being treated differently from all other industries,

we are forced to deal with things like tax section 280 E and the inability to have proper business write-offs to high taxes in California.

These added burdens, along with the cost of extreme regulations that require large capital outlays, have forced us to seek outside investors to keep us running. It

would be great if smaller businesses were given the ability to also succeed, which I think could happen with lower taxes and a proper, easy-

to-navigate regulatory structure.

T&T: It’s easy to geek out over cool cannabis science. What have you learned about the cannabis plant, or a product, that really amazed you?


The Word According to the Board: The Harry Resin Edition


HR: I’d say the most fascinating thing I’ve learned about cannabis was the way THC [delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol] or CBD [cannabidiol] is produced by the plant. The cannabis synthase process.

T&T: What one thing could you not be without in your grow?

HR: I’d say probably my EC [electrical conductivity] meter. This gives in-depth insights into my nutrient mix and what level it’s at. It’s crucial to understanding what’s going into your plants.

T&T: If you could tell someone just one thing about cannabis, what would it be?

HR: I’d say try it if you haven’t. The plant is one of nature’s greatest gifts.

T&T: In the 17+ years that you’ve been growing cannabis,

how have cultivation practices changed? How has technology helped this evolution? Do you see any returns to older, more traditional methods like in other agricultural industries, like a return to organic?

HR: The two greatest advantages to legalization is that we now have access to the latest tech in agriculture. This has allowed cannabis cultivators to use the modern advances afforded other agricultural industries; things like stacked gardens and LED [light-emitting diode] lights are some of the most interesting advancements to come of this.

T&T: You do a little bit of crystal gazing. Where do we go from here? What does 2020 bring us?

HR: Hopefully 2020 will bring even further advancements to cultivation and other areas in cannabis. It’s an exciting time for sure.

Using Pharmacogenomics to Predict User ResponsePersonalized medicine has been a big buzz word in the medical field as increasing amounts of people are getting their genome sequenced. In the context of cannabis, for those of us that use the plant extensively, it is apparent that certain formulations or routes of administration provide a much better (or worse) experience than others. The underlying differences behind why this is the case can sometimes be predicted by taking a pharmacogenetic approach, where one’s genetics can be screened for variants that could potentially cause drug interactions or adverse effects.

What Types of Genes are Involved in Predicting an Individual’s Response to Cannabis?When considering what targets might be important to an individual’s response to cannabis, it is important to examine the genes that encode for biological targets of the cannabinoids and downstream targets. [1] Additionally, genes encoding for enzymes involved in degradation of endocannabinoids and elimination of exogenous cannabinoids can provide some insights.

Of interest for those who consume edibles is the CYP2C9 enzyme which metabolizes delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) into 11-hydroxy-THC and subsequently into THC-COOH. The gene that encodes CYP2C9 has variants that can impact the enzyme’s efficiency and ability to clear THC from the body. Specifically, the *3 variant has been demonstrated to be 27% less efficient than the other *1 allele. [2] In line with this finding, a clinical investigation found that those that are homozygous for the *3 version of CYP2C9 display substantially elevated levels of THC in the blood and for a longer period. [3] This suggests that using infused cannabis products with lower amounts of THC would be beneficial for preventing adverse effects in populations of this genotype.

Another gene of interest for those who are concerned about the impact of cannabis on their cognition and mental health is the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. This gene encodes for an enzyme that degrades the neurotransmitter dopamine. Particularly of interest is the Val158Met polymorphism where a single base pair substitution changes a methionine into a valine residue. This difference matters because the valine version of the gene degrades dopamine four times faster than the methionine version meaning there is less dopamine in the synapse of these individuals. Additionally, some research has

suggested that those carrying the valine version of COMT have a greater likelihood of developing schizophrenia; other work, however, has refuted these findings. [4,5]

ConclusionWith genome sequencing services such as 23&Me becoming more mainstream, applying pharmacogenomics is a practical method to help predict how an individual might respond to cannabis. Based on the information presented here, it seems that an individual with a *3/*3 CYP2C9 and a Val/Val COMT genotype might want to avoid high potency THC edibles altogether. However, it’s important to caveat that genetic markers aren’t always concrete and there is still much work to be done to validate the strength of many of these genetic markers in a real-world setting.

By Kyle Boyar, KB Consultations

Pharmacogenomics for the Cannabis User

References[1] Hryhorowicz S. et al. “Pharmacogenetics of Cannabinoids”, Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet., 2018, vol. 43(1), pp. 1-12. [journal impact factor = 1.497; cited by 10]

[2] Bland T. et al. “CYP2C-catalyzed delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol metabolism: kinetics, pharmacogenetics and interaction with phenytoin”, Biochem Pharmacol., 2005, vol. 70(7), pp. 1096-103. [journal impact factor = 4.825; cited by 60]

[3] Sachse-Seeboth C. et al. “Interindividual variation in the pharmacokinetics of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol as related to genetic polymorphisms in CYP2C9”, Clin Pharmacol Ther., 2009, vol. 85(3), pp. 273-6. [journal impact factor = 6.336; cited by 50]

[4] Caspi A. et al. “Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction”, Biol Psychiatry., 2005, vol. 57(10), pp. 1117-27. [journal impact factor = 11.501; cited by 1034]

[5] Moore T. et al. “Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review”, Lancet, 2007, vol. 370(9584), pp. 319-28. [journal impact factor = 59.102; cited by 5]


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