This article originally appeared in the August 2018 print issue of Cannabis Business Times. To subscribe, click here.
Far up a remote river, deep in the Amazon rain forest, a local plant hunter stands on a rickety dock in the smoky haze, wearing clothes tattered from days of navigating the thick jungle. In his outstretched hand, he clutches a soiled canvas bag. A few protruding leaves peek hopefully at the early morning sun. He waves to the oncoming boat to come ashore. On board is a world-renowned ethnobotanist, traveling the globe on behalf of a pharmaceutical company, in search of rare indigenous plants with traditional medicinal uses.
Upon their transport overseas, these exotic plants will become established in a foreign land, and will be assayed for rare compounds that may ultimately be turned into valuable medicines.
Numerous advances in modern medicine have been achieved since science has gained a better understanding of traditional plant uses. Many of today’s most successful prescription medications were discovered by exploring the relationships between peoples and plants—and yet, only a small percentage of plants have been investigated for their medical efficacy by modern science. Prospecting for plants that produce natural compounds that can be clinically shown to fight diseases, then patenting these compounds (naturally sourced or preferably synthesized) and finally capitalizing on their sale for great profits, is the key strategy driving the international “Big Pharma” industry.
The modern cannabis industry is experiencing a similar situation with the transfer of varieties to large, corporate cannabis interests. The crowd-sourced selection and breeding of modern cannabis varieties—and their widespread dissemination—offer much easier opportunities for the cannabis corporations of the future to acquire promising varieties. From the seed collectors of the hippie trail (a movement of Westerners, from the 1960s through the 1970s, along a route from Europe to South Asia that passed through many of the world’s premier hashish-producing hubs), to the innovative Dutch seed companies, and eventually the California dispensaries—the cannabis subculture has delivered the results of its great collective effort, risk and expense right to corporations’ doorsteps. However, while drug varieties of cannabis have become widely available, Big Pharma’s ability to utilize those plants in a pharmaceutical application is certainly not simple.
The Agribusiness of Cannabis
Emerging international cannabis agribusinesses are beginning to realize that cannabis is one of our most complex plant allies. Cannabis is genetically diverse and provides us with a kaleidoscope of possibilities in terms of choosing appropriate cultivars for specific purposes. Not only do varieties differ in agronomic characteristics such as size, yield and potency, but cannabis plants’ chemical contents are also quite complex. Cannabis-derived medicines and other products are characterized by the content of specific secondary metabolites (such as cannabinoids and terpenes) and are extracted from specialized cultivars that produce high levels of these target compounds. In a parallel way, industrial hemp cultivars are characterized by their fiber and seed yields, but additionally by their fiber qualities, essential fatty acid profiles, protein contents and other agronomically valuable traits. Recently, the CBD contents of industrial hemp cultivars became of great interest, and the multi-use medicinal-industrial hemp industry was born.
Cannabis produces many cannabinoids, terpenes and other active compounds that in various combinations offer myriad therapeutic properties, and many may prove effective for the relief of a wide range of common medical conditions. This is a strong reason for using whole flowers with the highest possible chemical complexity and diversity, rather than concentrates and extracts that contain fewer potentially beneficial compounds. This situation also emphasizes our need to determine which compounds and combinations are the most effective and desirable, and eventually how to provide them in the most economical way. To move forward as an agricultural industry, we must rely on collaborative efforts between businesses (and their interests) and growers of excellent cannabis, as well as those with access to rare and valuable cultivars.
To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' August 2018 issue, click here.
Top Image: Soru Epotok | Adobe Stock
