MJBizMag May-June 2021 - 54

WELLNESS OUTLOOK
'fluffy claims.' 'It may support this;
it may help that.' But we can't say, 'It
will stop your pain,' " Fuentes said.
" There's no drug monograph for
these products because they haven't
gone through that process yet. "
Color Up's owners say it's increasingly
frustrating to see others making
claims they know are unlawful.
Instead, the company uses its online
education program focused on wellness
practitioners such as yoga teachers,
naturopaths, nutritionists and the
network of spas carrying its products.
The company also educates brand
ambassadors from massage, aesthetics
and skin-care schools with the hope
that they will teach their students
about Color Up's products.
" I teach at a massage and aesthetics
school, and (the brand) is fully in their
program. We're in the Paul Mitchell
schools and the Aveda schools, and we
teach their students about our cannabis
products and how they're utilized in
treatments-why we're using it, why
we're recommending it, " Blanch said.
" And then, all of those people are out
there educating for us.
" That's how we have been able to get
our education and marketing out to
people without crossing the FDA lines
or getting ourselves in trouble. "
Mainstream brands exploring the
benefits of cannabinoids are careful to
enlist attorneys and regulatory experts
to ensure they are following the rules,
Kim said.
" We always will look to the
attorneys on what exactly (is) correct
and how it should be said, " Kim said.
" While sometimes it can be a little
limiting ... regulations and the laws
are so very important, and there is
a lot of gray zone, so people have to
educate themselves well. "
Laura Drotleff writes
for Hemp Industry Daily
and Marijuana Business
Magazine. She can be
reached at laura.drotleff@
hempindustrydaily.com.
Plant Breeders Coax Minor
Cannabinoids From Genetics
Until recently, manufacturers have
had a tough time getting minor
cannabinoids incorporated into their
products. A shortage of availability
and a high price tag have stood
between manufacturers and these
rare molecules, said Will Parker, cofounder
of Denver-based Color Up
CBD Wellness Center.
But in the past year or two, cannabis
breeders have stepped up efforts
to produce genetics dominant in
minor cannabinoids, while extractors
have developed techniques to more
thoroughly isolate them.
" It's really exciting now that they're
becoming a lot more accessible, "
Parker said.
PUMP UP THE THC-V
Jonathan Vaught, CEO and founder of
Front Range Biosciences, a producer
of hemp and marijuana genetics in
Lafayette, Colorado, said the genetics
for minor cannabinoid-dominant
varieties are coming online from a
number of companies.
Front Range Biosciences is launching
a new line of THC-V genetics
in collaboration with marijuana
partners in California and Colorado.
The company also is working on
developing hemp-compliant THC-V
genetics as well as genetics dominant
in other minor cannabinoids.
" THC-V has been rarely observed
... and it's generally produced at
fairly low levels, " Vaught said, citing a
mutation in the pathway that allows
cannabis plants to produce THC-V.
" Most plants that do have this
mutation generally don't produce
very much, and when they do ... then
the plants are generally fairly poor
performing. They don't produce very
good weight. They don't produce high
overall cannabinoids and terpenes.
They're just generally not very easy
plants to grow and produce. "
With advances in breeding
technology, the company has
unlocked the plant's genetic ability to
produce varieties with more than 20%
total cannabinoids and a nearly 1:1
THC-V:THC ratio, Vaught said.
" By improving not only the total
amount of THC-V that gets
produced in the plant but also some
of the other characteristics-high
terpenes and total cannabinoids-it
produces more weight and more
flower and it's more vigorous, "
Vaught said. " Those are all the things
that are going to make it easier
for growers to produce this and
introduce it in the supply chain. "
CBG AND CBN
The availability of new genetics
has shown up in cultivation, too.
According to Hemp Industry Daily's
2021 Hemp and CBD Factbook, CBD
continues to be the cannabinoid most
hemp growers strive to cultivate,
with 80% of growers focused on CBD
flower and biomass production in
2020, down from 96% in 2019.
Cannabigerol (CBG) is often called
the mother of cannabinoids because
it breaks down to form other
cannabinoids such as CBD and THC.
Of hemp grown for cannabinoid
extraction in 2020, 43% was for CBG,
up from 19% in 2019. The shift likely
stems from increased research and
public interest in novel cannabinoids.
Cannabis plant varieties rich in CBD-V
also have recently hit the market.
Long considered an unwanted
waste product of " stale " cannabis,
CBN is created when THC-A is
exposed to light or oxidized. Some
cannabis product manufacturers say
the degraded THC has sleep and
anti-inflammation benefits worth
exploring.
The percentage of hemp cultivated
for CBN remained nearly the same
from 2019 to 2020, at 10% and 12%,
respectively. About 3% of growers
were cultivating hemp for delta-8
THC, a category that has gained
traction only over the past year.
Meanwhile, cannabis extractors are
experimenting with better ways to
use light, heat and pressure to hasten
the way THC degrades into CBN,
which several marijuana companies
are using in sleep-aid products.
- Laura Drotleff
54 Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2021
MJBizMag May-June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag May-June 2021
