MAGAZINE The Rise of Cannabinomics U.S. Medical Marijuana Empowers A Cannabis Laboratory Revolution Photo courtesy of Paul Winkler, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments 8 separation 2/2015 MAGAZINE Summary/Introduction (www.canncon.org), have emerged to bring can- peer-reviewed, scientific/medicinal journals and nabis laboratories together. assert that cannabis has “no accepted medical Cannabis quality control testing, vital to ensur- use”. They do this even though the US Depart- ing the safety of consumers of cannabis prod- Other Times I Can Barely See ment of Health and Human Services (HHS) was ucts, is in its infancy. This testing, however, is issued a US Patent entitled, “Cannabinoids as shedding light on a long-suppressed field of Despite the growth of both recreational and antioxidants and neuroprotectants” in 2003 [2]. cannabinomics. As more and more US states be- medical marijuana markets, there are numerous The greatest impact of the federal government’s come medicinally and recreationally cannabis- federal, financial, logistical and technical issues failure to reclassify marijuana from a DEA legal, this testing will improve, mature and open plaguing cannabis testing laboratories. Still fed- Schedule I drug is that research labs cannot in- the door to much more comprehensive cannabis erally illegal, marijuana is a Schedule I drug and vestigate cannabis health benefits because, research. The US is on the verge of a “green US laboratories cannot receive standards at con- marijuana simply cannot be legally obtained rush” and we believe humankind will benefit centrations higher than 1 mg/mL. From a federal and researchers risk raids and imprisonment. immensely from this cannabis revolution. perspective, cannabis testing labs are neither Standardization of testing and sample prep- protected nor legal. aration is critical to ensuring safe products. For Sometimes the Light's All Shinin’ on Me Research branches of the federal govern- example, cannabinoid extraction from cannabis ment, such as the National Institutes of Health plant materials selectively separates cannabi- Throngs of eager entrepreneurs gather like ram- (NIH), publish manuscripts demonstrating sever- noids, ultimately delivering them in a highly bunctious reptiles under the intense incandes- al health benefits of cannabis and even state concentrated form. Concentrated oils and wax- cence of metal halide and high pressure sodium that, “The marijuana plant contains several es are used to generate a wide variety of can- lighting amidst row after row of extraction chemicals that may prove useful for treating a nabis infused products, from gummi bears, equipment, vaporizers and cannabis infused range of illnesses or symptoms, leading many brownies, and beverages to soaps and skin product booths. Cannabis conferences have people to argue that it should be made legally creams. Accurate testing of cannabis oils and sprouted up across the United States, and any- available for medical purposes.” [1]. Federal law products is necessary to ensure proper dosing one attending such meetings will tell you that enforcement agencies, seem to ignore reports in and to minimize the risk of overdose. In addi- there is a buzz surrounding cannabis that is not attributed to tetrahydrocannabinol. At confer- ences like the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo, attendees weave through informative exhibition booths, short courses and oral pre- sentations that cover a myriad of marijuana re- lated topics, from cannabis cultivation tips and dispensary ‘budtender’ training to medical mar- ijuana extracted oils and edibles. Financial ex- perts, entrepreneurs, cannabis connoisseurs, laboratory chemists and a large contingency of novices intermingle to educate, share, learn and network. The energy level is exuberant, adrenal- ized with what seems to be unlimited opportu- nities. At the time of writing this article, 37 states have pro- medical cannabis laws, including 23 states (and DC) that have medical laws and 4 states that have full legalization. There are over 2,000,000 legal medical marijuana patients in the U.S.A., and nearly half of Americans are now living in states with some form of medical mari- juana or CBD legislation. As entrepreneurs posi- tion for highly coveted cultivation and dispensa- ry licenses and state regulators work diligently to bring new medical cannabis programs online, another exciting business opportunity has emerged. Cannabis testing laboratories are needed to accurately determine cannabinoid po- tencies in cannabis products, and ensure that these products are free from contaminants. New standards and best practices are being established by various associations in states where medical or recreational marijuana is le- gal. American Herbal Pharmacopoeia’s mono- graph outlines the quality control criteria need- ed for ensuring the identity, purity, and quality of cannabis materials. The American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) has established a cannabis ex- pert panel, which convenes to improve cannabis testing. New conferences devoted entirely to cannabis testing and research, like CannCon Fig. 1. G.I. Grow’s natural sunlight biomedical farm (www.GIGrow.us). separation 2/2015 9 MAGAZINE The endocannabinoid system develops in early human embryonic stages and cannabinoid receptors play a critical role in brain develop- ment and foetal survival [3]. Researchers have become extremely interested in the endocan- nabinoid system as an emerging target of phar- macotherapeutics. Understanding and modulat- ing the activity of the endocannabinoid system appears to hold great therapeutic potential in “a wide range of disparate diseases and pathologi- cal conditions, ranging from mood and anxiety disorders, movement disorders such as Parkin- son's and Huntington's disease, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, to cancer, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, glaucoma, obesity/meta- bolic syndrome, and osteoporosis, to name just a few” [4]. It’s research like this, specializing in human health rather than human high, that best illus- trates the desperate need for standardization of procedures and cannabis test methods. Cannabis contains more than 500 com- pounds that are unique to cannabis, including over 80 cannabinoids. We will only begin to ap- preciate the therapeutic potential of cannabi- noids once cannabis research is allowed to take place in laboratories across the world. We will also begin to gain a better understanding of the interactions/synergies of the cannabinome with terpenes, flavonoids and other cannabis-con- Fig. 2. Health disorders with reported cannabinoid impact. Learn more at the world’s largest and most taining compounds. In this regard, we are only informative cannabis strain online database at www.Leafly.com. beginning to unlock the healing potential of cannabis. tion, safer extraction techniques need to be de- Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the major References veloped. The most popular technique, butane psychoactive component in marijuana, with [1] NIH Website entitled, “DrugFacts: Is Marijuana hash oil extractions, have had explosive conse- most plants containing around 15% THC. Mod- Medicine?”: www.drugabuse.gov/publications/ quences on the industry, as the number of bu- ern marijuana growers are breeding plants drugfacts/marijuana-medicine tane hash oil extraction explosion victims has with unheard of THC levels. Analysis of recent [2] US Patent #6630507, “Cannabinoids as antioxi- skyrocketed, leaving “chemists” charred with strains from California and Australia, however, dants and neuroprotectants”: www.google.ca/ burns on up to 90% of their bodies. reported THC levels as high as 40%. In general, patents/US6630507. In the meantime, medical cannabis patients as the THC levels increase, they do so at the [3] Basavarajappa BS et al.: Endocannabinoid Sys- are suffering. They simply cannot receive their expense of the other cannabinoids. While sev- tem: Emerging Role from Neurodevelopment to prescribed medicine due to slow moving gov- eral health benefits have been reported for Neurodegeneration, Mini Rev Med Chem., (4) ernment programs. For example, although Mas- THC, many medical cannabis patients need 448-62 (2009) sachusetts legalized medical marijuana in 2012, cannaceuticals rich in non-psychoactive canna- [4] Pál Pacher et al.: The Endocannabinoid System as only one dispensary has opened out of the 15 binoids like cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidiolic an Emerging Target of Pharmacotherapy, Pharma- that were awarded licenses. The federal govern- acid (CBDA), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabigero- cological Reviews September 2006 vol. 58 no. 3 ment needs to act now. lic acid (CBGA), cannabinol (CBN) and/or the 389-462. doi: 10.1124/pr.58.3.2. (2006) non-psychoactive, carboxylated form of tetra- Lately it Occurs to Me What a Long, hydrocannabinol (THC-A). These patients also Strange Trip It's Been seek non-smoking cannabis products, including oils and oil-infused edibles with easy to con- Cannabis analytical testing laboratories typically trol, accurate dosages. G.I. Grow is a biomedi- quantitate somewhere between 8-12 cannabi- cal farm in Deer Island, Oregon that abides by noids. These cannabinoids are separated and Oregon Medical Marijuana Program rules and analyzed using conventional high performance nurtures cannabis flowers with natural sunlight Contact liquid chromatographic systems. These labs also cultivation and water/ice extraction techniques Scott Kuzdzal, Ph.D. use GC and GCMS to profile terpenes, which