Cannabis has entered a completely new era of technological advancement, propelled by advances in scientific understanding of the plant’s numerous constituents. Because of this improved understanding of how cannabinoids evolve, the industry is able to produce more consistent medicine that has considerable improvements in bioavailability. From the use of drones and multispectral images in agriculture to the enhancement of bioavailability through nanotechnology, science and technology are fast transforming the way we interact with this plant and the products we produce.
In some ways, it’s difficult to keep up with all of the innovations that are sweeping the industry at the moment. However, if we take a look at a few recent happenings in context, we can begin to construct a compelling picture.
ADVANCED DRONES AND IMAGING: IMPROVED CULTIVATION
Superior cultivation is the first step toward producing a better consumer cannabis product. Cannabis is a notoriously unpredictably plant, especially when grown in the open air. Cannabinoid and terpene concentration are significantly influenced by environmental stressors, which might be difficult to monitor in real time due to the complexity of the process.
Increased information available to growers due to the advent of drone technology and multispectral imagery into outdoor cannabis growing has resulted in a significant rise in the amount of information available to growers. Within a precision grow, information reigns supreme.
This technology, which is now being employed by firms like as MicaSense and Arbor Drone across the agricultural sector, is now being focused on the cannabis industry.
The reflectance of plants is captured by these agricultural drones, which use specialized cameras and on-board sensors. Harvest estimates, male/female identification, timing, and difficulty regions can all be improved with the use of this images. There is also drone technology available that can detect water stress, whether it is a field-wide problem or a microclimate issue in a specific area.
Growers are able to generate a healthier end product as a result of improved real-time mapping of the crop. In the case of cannabis, this means higher cannabinoid and terpene content, as well as improved consistency. Drones combine science and technology with human interpretation of data to reduce manual labor and crop failure while increasing yields and yield per acre.
BETTER BIOAVAILABILITY THROUGH NANOTECHNOLOGY AND INGREDIENTS
But what about technological advancements in the post-harvest sector? It’s been a long time since the conventional hand-rolled hash and simple tinctures of only fifty years ago were used in manufacturing. It is the current buzzword in the edible and beverage side of the industry because it is resolving many of the long-standing concerns that consumers have had with cannabis when it is consumed in edible form.
The basic concept is that nanotechnology compresses cannabis down to minuscule particles capable of slipping past cell membranes, so avoiding the delays (and dilutions) caused by the digestive system.
Sunderstorm is an example of a company that is utilizing nanotechnology to increase the bioavailability, uniformity, and onset timings of conventional dietary supplements and foods. They are one of the first companies in the United States to use nanotechnology into cannabis consumables, and they have contributed to the emergence of a completely new era of effective edibles. As Cameron Clarke, CEO of Sunderstorm, highlighted to Cannabis Tech in a recent conversation, “We are motivated by nanotechnology not only because it has an attractive name, but also because it has the potential to transform the world.” Everything boils down to improving the bioavailability, the consistency of the product, and the time it takes for the product to take effect.”
The time between when a consumer consumes a product and when they experience its favorable effects has been compressed, according to Clarke, thanks to the efforts of Sunderstorm. According to his observations, the start occurs within 10 minutes, which is far faster than the 60 to 90 minutes that are often expected with most edibles.
Sunderstom has a thorough understanding of how their goods act in the human body since they monitor the cannabinoid blood-plasma levels in consumers after they drink their products. Clarke explained that this is a considerably more important sign of therapeutic efficacy than potency alone: “If it doesn’t get into your bloodstream, it’s not going to be of any use to you.”
Sunderstorm and other nanotechnology-based startups are drastically altering the race to develop ever-more-effective alternatives to existing medications. This has the potential to upend the present ‘cult of potency’ that exists in the industry.
Enhancing cannabis begins with cultivation and ends with the consumer, according to the cannabis industry.
Cannabis, whether used for recreational or therapeutic purposes, is, at its core, a good for consumers to purchase. Consumer pleasure and therapeutic benefit can be improved by enhancing cannabinoid development, consistency, and predictability, which are all important aspects of cannabis enhancement.
A greater awareness of what is going on in the field leads to a more robust ultimate harvest in the long run. However, this is only the beginning. The results of scientific investigation have resulted in improvements to the route of administration. Edibles and tinctures including a nanotechnology component have changed an unpredictable and out-of-date delivery mechanism into something that is far better suited to the pharmaceutical industry than previously existed. A nanotechnology-enhanced edible is a product that is constant from one dosage to the next.
These two breakthroughs work together to build the groundwork for a new breed of cannabis to emerge. They raise and enrich the experience to a level that has never been achieved previously with cannabis.