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Sustainable Cannabis in Denver: What Does the Future Hold?

Sustainable Cannabis in Denver: What Does the Future Hold?

by | Aug 3, 2017 | Blog, Science & Technology

The Colorado marijuana industry is booming in Denver, but as business grows, so does the need for resources.

 

Being a world leader in recreational and medical marijuana production, the city of Denver has taken the initiative to work toward a more sustainable cannabis culture. The legalization of marijuana has drawn attention to the vast amount of resources required to maintain a cannabis cultivation facility.

Thousands of gallons of water and enough energy to power hundreds of high intensity lights pass through an average facility on any given day. Considering there are more than a few hundred grow operations in Denver, the city needed a plan to reduce the use of resources and find a more sustainable path forward.

 

Cannabis Sustainability

In 2016, the Department of Environmental Health created the Cannabis Sustainability Workgroup. The CSW was formed in partnership with the Organic Cannabis Association, and is comprised of cannabis industry leaders from all areas of cultivation. Their goals are to create a guide of cannabis best practices on sustainability, and to work with local Colorado marijuana businesses to maximize their efficiency and sustainability.

 

Coming Together

The group consists of cannabis industry professionals like Ralph Morgan of O.pen Vapes, Meg Collins of Good Chemistry and Kayvan Khalatabari, of Denver Relief. They are joined by the likes of Kevin Mahmalji of NORML, John Sneider of Xcel Energy, and Andrew Livingston of Denver’s Vicente Sederberg law firm.

The group of 17 has met every month for the last year and have formulated strategies in order to conquer out of control power usage. By their estimations, cannabis grows across the city can reduce their power bills by as much as 22% by optimizing what is called ‘peak energy demand.’

 

Staggering Statistics

Power and water are the two utilities that cannabis businesses depend on. In the beginning of May, the city of Denver’s water usage increased by nearly 50%, a portion of the spike attributable to cannabis businesses. With lights running 24 hours a day, power consumption is of utmost concern. When examined from an outside perspective, the overall resource consumption of the average grow is staggering. Establishing a series of best practices to reduce this carbon footprint is essential, particularly for areas that may be affected by drought or harsh environmental conditions. The work the CSW is doing has major implications for the future of the industry. The best practices established here in Denver will go on to serve as a framework for new markets as legalization continues to spread and the Colorado marijuana industry grows.

 

Getting Involved

The workgroup is hosting its second annual Cannabis Symposium on sustainability at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver, with tickets going on sale July 1st. Denver has always been on the forefront of cannabis innovation, so it is just fitting that the city should be spearheading the push for responsible and sustainable cultivation.

The Colorado marijuana industry is still in its infancy, and many are still figuring out how this thing works. Being a leader in sustainability will fortify Denver’s role in the global cannabis community.

CBD in Your Daily Health Regimen

CBD in Your Daily Health Regimen

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Blog, Science & Technology

Growing research into the many benefits of cannabis leads to new discoveries every day. One such discovery comes in the form of CBD and its ability to become part of a daily health regimen.

Cannabis is made of over 80 different chemical compounds, THC or tetrahydrocannabinol being the most well-known. As the industry has grown both recreationally and medicinally, more and more compounds are being explored for their potential uses. One such compound that is gaining popularity throughout the industry and among cultivators is CBD, and CBD oil benefits among others.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, by definition, is a non-psychoactive medicinal compound in cannabis unlike THC, which is the main psychoactive compound found in the plant. It has multiple newfound medical effects that can be incorporated into your daily lifestyle to help live a better, healthier life.

CBD Oil Benefits

The medical benefits from Cannabidiol are obtained through the extraction of oils from the cannabis plant, as well as consumed in high CBD content cannabis flower. The benefits of CBD oil are palpable, and its use as medicine is becoming more realistic. The most well-studied medicinal benefit is in the aiding of epilepsy patients who suffer from severe seizures.

Legal in most states, CBD can be purchased online or from licensed distributors, and it can become part of a daily diet with some research. Cannabidiol is rich in Omega 3 acids, which are essential in preventing heart disease. CBD oil benefits also include containing zinc, calcium, magnesium, and iron, all minerals that can aid in bone strength, red blood cell generation, hormonal balancing and body PH. With the added benefits of amino acids, CBD is a great supplementary addition.

Finding the Right Supplement

CBD can be taken by mixing it in with food or as a pill much like a daily vitamin. Different types of CBD oils can be used as a lotion for dry skin and to help with inflammation or pain. High CBD content cannabis flower such as the popular strain, Charlotte’s Web, can be smoked or vaporized, as well as converted in CBD oil either to smoke or ingest orally.

Whether it’s in oil, flower, lotion, or food form, CBD provides numerous benefits that the body can utilize to build on top of a healthy daily regimen. With research building, and access growing, it is time to consider making Cannabidiol a part of your daily life.

Cannabis Research in Israel

Cannabis Research in Israel

by | Jul 20, 2017 | 420 News, Blog, Science & Technology

While the United States makes great strides in medicinal cannabis research, Israel has been doing the same for nearly 35 years.

Israel has become the recognized leader in medicinal cannabis research and innovation. In the US, legal states like California and Colorado opened the door for scientific and medical research in the late nineties. Israel, however, has a nearly 35 year head start.

Unlike in the US, the Israeli government has supported medicinal cannabis research, despite its prohibition among the general population. Israel’s recent decriminalization and pledge to support cannabis initiatives marked a shift in global attitudes toward cannabis and has drawn new investors looking to get into what could be a transformative industry for the nation.

A History of Cannabis Research in Israel

Israel has played a major role in the modern history of cannabis. It was an Israeli scientist, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who identified CBD and THC in the 1960’s, allegedly from a piece of Lebanese hash he obtained from police. His research served as the basis for Israel’s own medical cannabis distribution program that went into effect in 1992, years before California followed suit.

Along with decriminalization, Israel has announced its intent to provide additional funding for research with the goal of helping new cannabis products find their way to the market and to develop a further understanding of cannabis’ role in medicine.

Expanding and Progressing

The announcement made it clear that Israel is intent on greatly expanding the medical marijuana market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to invest approximately $2.1 million dollars into thirteen new cannabis projects including medicinal applications,  biochemistry and improving cultivation techniques.

One of the more exciting projects on the horizon is the development of national catalog of strain genetics. Mapping the cannabis genome and developing the ability to identify specific traits associated with genetic markers could have incredible implications for the development of new strains that target specific ailments.

The main difference between the US and Israeli cannabis research field, is that scientists in the US have struggled to work around federal law which has always had a strict prohibition on cannabis. The federal government’s inability to see past the politics of the drug war has set the US back decades in cannabis research.

Israel’s approach, while socially prohibitive, allowed researchers to do the work they needed to do to fully understand the potential health benefits of the cannabis plant. The result is that they are now the recognized world leader in cannabis science.

American Investor’s Dream

A medical marijuana market that has the full support of the government is an investor’s dream. In the US, the uncertainty of a future national market has held back large investors. Knowing that politics won’t get in the way of making a dollar in Israel’s medical cannabis industry, American investment firms are believed to have sunk at least $50 million into companies actively working to develop new products for the burgeoning market. Many involved in Israeli’s cannabis industry believe that it will grow to become a $100-million-dollar industry by the end of 2017.

With the past distribution system limiting the number of legal consumers to the 23,000 or so medical marijuana card holders, the industry itself was limited to around $20 million dollars on the high end.

The shift in public policy and investment in the industry as a whole will undoubtedly help the country reach its goal of $100 million dollars in sales, which itself seems like a conservative estimate. The industry’s recent developments come after decades of cutting edge research, which ultimately forced the government to recognize not only the incredible health benefits but the economic advantages to legalization as well.

 

The Evolution of Cannabis Strains & Cultivation Techniques

The Evolution of Cannabis Strains & Cultivation Techniques

by | Jun 14, 2017 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Growing, Science & Technology

On a new episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker, Chip sat down in the studio with Dave Malone from Green Dot Labs, and Doug Marvin from nutrient manufacturer Botanicare.

Cannabis extracts are all the rage lately, but not all extracts and cannabis concentrates are created equal. Greed Dot Labs specializes in how to make high grade concentrates made from cannabis flower, grown using top quality seeds and the best nutrients around. But what sets Green Dot Labs apart from the competition? Dedication to quality and innovation in the grow room.

“It’s the timeless classic varietals that we’ve preserved over the years, your kushes your diesels, every so often something new and revolutionary comes out. It’s happening more and more.”

Part of Green Dot Labs’ success is attributable to the quality of their strain genetics. Besides the classics, Green Dot Labs stays on top of the cannabis world by producing some of the newest and best cannabis strains around.

Chip and his guests sampled some Triangle Mints, a cross of Triangle Kush and Girl Scout Cookies, which is just one example of the new and cutting edge genetics being grown at Green Dot labs.

“And now that extraction is a large part of the business in cannabis, we’re able to really see this plant through the different lens and ways we could breed this plant now to have as much essential oil as possible, as much terpene content as possible.”

Cannabis extracts are now the fastest growing segment of the retail cannabis world. They are inexpensive, easy to make and provide a concentrated burst of cannabinoids and terpenes without the fuss of rolling a joint. But not all plants make good extracts, or provide the right amount of cannabinoids or terpenes, leaving Dave and the team at Green Dot Labs to discern which strains are best for concentrates.

As Dave and Chip discuss, the best strains for extraction are those heavy with oils and resins. The best high-cannabinoid plants for blasting have genetics going back to many of the original hash plants like Afghani or Lebanese. These landrace genetics have gone on to play a major role in many of the strains consumed today.

“Once you’ve found out the ways of how Botanicare products can help your plants, it’s hard to go back. I’ve seen cannabis all over the world.”

In order to grow the best plants, you need the best cannabis nutrients. Doug has spent 20 years working to create some of the industry’s top selling nutrient lines. Botanicare has been around since the late ’90s and fuels the garden at Green Dot Labs. Botanicare’s professional lines of nutrients provide a wide range of supplements that pack the punch of nutrient salts for cannabis, while maintaining the fullness and essence of an organic grow.

“So to make the ultimate extract in my mind is to preserve 100 percent of the terpenes on the plant and 100 percent of the cannabinoids, and then homogenize those two and filter out every other impurity such as your lipid, your plant waxes, your cuttin.”

One of the newest trends in cannabis concentrates is called high terpene full spectrum extract. The idea is to preserve 100% of the terpenes and cannabinoids, resulting in the highest quality ‘full spectrum’ cannabis extract available. The need for full spectrum extracts comes from the Entourage Effect, in which terpenes and cannabinoids work together to enhance each other’s properties.

THC or CBD alone fail to reach their full potential if ingested alone. Only in consuming a variety of cannabinoids at once can you be sure to maximize their effectiveness. The more we learn about cannabis, the more we realize that whole plant remedies and full spectrum cannabinoid profiles, are what make the magic happen.

Find out the full scoop about extractions and the future of concentrates from Dave and Doug themselves on The Real Dirt with Chip Baker Podcast.

Hemp CBD: The $90 Million Market You’ve Never Considered

Hemp CBD: The $90 Million Market You’ve Never Considered

by | May 22, 2017 | Blog, Science & Technology

You’ve probably heard of it, you may have even tried it, and there is definitely a product made with it on shelves in your local organic grocery store. But just what is hemp CBD?

How is it different than cannabis CBD? And what kind of market is there for hemp CBD-based products? Let’s start with the basics.

What is CBD?

You may have really started hearing about CBD after Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s CNN special, Weed, where he reversed his previous opinion on the medical efficacy of cannabis.  Or maybe you’ve heard of “Charlotte’s Web”, a CBD-based cannabis strain created by the Stanley Brothers with sick children in mind.

CBD is a chemical compound found in cannabis that is most known for its medical properties and lack of psychoactive, or “high”, effects. CBD has become somewhat of a medical marvel since its discovery. CBD shows  promise in reducing cancer cell growth, reducing the amount and severity of elliptic seizures, reducing inflammation, alleviating pain from Multiple Sclerosis, reducing anxiety and depression, and much more. 

Since the “high” effects from CBD are little to non-existent, some medical practitioners and patients feel better using it as a form of medicine. This rings especially true in the mind of elderly patients and parents of sick children.

What is the difference between hemp CBD and cannabis CBD?

According to an International Association of Plant Taxonomy’s study from 1976, a plant is considered to be hemp when it has less than 0.3% THC and considered to be cannabis when it has more than 0.3% THC. For those keeping track at home, Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the chemical compound responsible for the high feeling cannabis consumers experience. Whether the percentage chosen seems arbitrary, it is still the main distinction in hemp CBD vs. cannabis CBD in the eyes of the law.

CBD that comes from hemp plants has a lower potency and much less THC than its cannabis-derived sister. This means hemp CBD products have little to no psychoactive side effects, and a much more diluted CBD potency…a positive or a negative depending on who you ask.

How do you grow Hemp CBD?

In order to grow hemp, you have to start with seeds that are CBD-rich and fall under the 0.3% THC mark. But don’t let that fool you into thinking growing hemp is easy. Hemp plants grow to be very tall and aren’t as inclined to thrive indoors as cannabis plants. And since the concentration of CBD in hemp is significantly lower, it takes a lot of plant matter to get a little CBD.

If the practicality, or lack thereof, doesn’t scare you away from growing hemp, maybe the law will. It is completely illegal, save for a few research-based exceptions, to grow hemp in the United States for commercial purposes. Oddly enough though, it is technically legal to process and distribute hemp CBD products in all 50 states and 40 countries, so long as the CBD used abides by the 0.3% THC rule and is made from the seed or stalk of the plant, not the leaves.

What is the market for hemp CBD products?

With the ability to sell hemp CBD products in all 50 states and 40 countries, the hemp-derived CBD market has exploded in the last couple years at a compound annual growth rate of 59%. According to The CBD Report by The Hemp Business Journal, the hemp CBD market grew from a niche and negligible market to $90 million in 2015.

Since the growing of hemp is illegal in the United States, much of the entrepreneurial opportunity is in the processing and distribution of hemp CBD-based products. From hemp CBD tinctures, to lotions, to pills, to salves, to oil…there is no shortage of innovative product lines to be made for the patients and consumers looking for CBD products.

The International Hemp Exchange, hemp’s first digital marketplace, is a perfect example of a company that has taken advantage of the distribution possibilities for hemp CBD and other hemp products. By connecting wholesale and retail buyers to the cultivators and processors around the world where hemp is legally grown, they serve as the middle man in a burgeoning industry.

Companies like the International Hemp Exchange are making it easier for patients living in states that do not allow or allow CBD for medical use but have not set up any sort of CBD commerce laws, to get medicine that may help.

With the amount of hemp CBD market growth we are witnessing, there’s plenty of room for more entrepreneurs to participate.

Hemp – From Illicit to Internationally Used

Hemp – From Illicit to Internationally Used

by | May 12, 2017 | Blog, Business, Science & Technology

On a trip to Amsterdam around a dozen years ago, I was overwhelmed by all the hemp based products they had on offer, the icing on the cake being a digital scale that was made of hemp plastic. When I mentioned it to the clerk, he remarked, “Even the lucky grower has his grow room made entirely of hemp these days.”

A hemp powered history

The earliest traceable examples of hemp fibers being used, go back twelve millennia where early Chinese people used hemp. Development of hemp in pottery, clothing, ropes, and early versions of paper followed for thousands of years.  In this time the healthful, medicinal and recreational elements of the plant were being explored as well. Some have even theorized that it’s psychotropic qualities are what helped Cannabis sativa make its migration west to the rest of the world.

As humanity took to the sea, hemp was there, billowing in the sails and hauling up the anchor.  Hemp was with Columbus as he opened European eyes to a larger world. As Ben Swenson noted, it is “estimated the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 donned 10,000 acres of cultivated hemp” in it’s sails.

We have all seen a dollar bill with the cartoon bubble “I grew hemp” stamped over Washington’s mouth.  Which in fact he did, as just about every other smart agriculturist of the day. Virginians were even at one point allowed to pay taxes with hemp.  In the 1930’s, Henry Ford began to experiment with plant based plastics in his effort to blend agricultural raw materials into industrial applications.  Amazingly, his plastic car prototype of 1941 had panels made of soybean and hemp and was even designed to run on a hemp based fuel.

So what happened?

The dreaded “Marihuana Tax Act of 1938” put an end to all cultivation of Cannabis Sativa. Since then, proponents have vigorously demonstrated that certain strains and styles of horticulture provide us with plant almost devoid of THC. Any serious article you read today about industrial hemp or hemp food production feels the need to add the caveat that “this will not get you high”.  This stigma and lack of understanding has been nearly impossible to shake, but now that attitudes and laws towards recreational cannabis use have shifted, so have attitudes to all uses of the plant.

Hemp’s place in technology

Hemp has continued to prove its usefulness in some high tech spheres. The BMW i3 which shaved 10% of it’s weight using hemp plastics over other low weight materials.  In home and building construction use hemp can be used a cheap and light insulation material, a particularly “green” material as it can be made with the leftover material from hemp processing.

In the world of super capacitors (think: fancy and fast batteries) hemp has been found to be a cheap and viable alternative to graphene which is, as described at asme.org, “a carbon nanomaterial, is considered to be one of the best materials for supercapicitor electrodes. Graphene is, however, expensive to manufacture, costing as much as $2,000 per gram.”  Whereas “a process for converting fibrous hemp waste into a unique graphene-like nanomaterial that outperforms graphene…can be manufactured for less than $500 per ton.”
Hemp plastic is also being deployed in the exciting new technology of 3D printing, providing a strong and light finished product used in biodegradable packaging, sunglasses and even drones.

What’s the future of the emerging hemp industry?

In the present of climate of legalization and progress some innovative new services and products are beginning to emerge.  The International Hemp Exchange is,“a platform for buyers and sellers of hemp goods and services to connect and transact.”  Basically, it’s a digital marketplace for all things hemp. While another company, Pure Hemp Botanicals, is purporting to have a new process to be able to economically process and refine multiple different parts of the hemp plant. Hemp refineries take in whole hemp plants to produce the intermediate products and chemical building blocks for manufacturing countless consumer and industrial products. Just the fact that two such services have opened their doors is a huge boon for the hemp industry.

Whole plant hemp extracts are a new development in the health and wellness industry.  Hemp provides a high source of protein, omegas -3 -6 -9, linoleic acid, gamma linoleic acids (GLA).  Not to mention the 85 cannabinoids which have been identified by the US Government (of all groups!) as neural protectors. Even Joe Rogan eats this stuff everyday.

The future of Cannabis Sativa is varied and exciting.  Everything from body lotion to cars to nanotechnology are within hemp’s scope.  As we grow, so the industry grows, so does the diverse application and appreciation of this wondrous plant.  In the words of the late great Bill Hicks, “It grows naturally on our planet, serves a thousand different functions, all of them positive. To make marijuana against the law is like saying that God made a mistake!”