NYC Scientists Develop THC-Free Strain
Scientist Develop THC-Free Cannabis Strain, Wait, Isn't That Hemp? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.
Weed without the high? Yep, you read that right.
Ever since people discovered that THC is the cannabinoid responsible for the (AMAZING) psychoactive effects of cannabis, scientists have been trying to isolate this compound and develop strains that contained higher and higher amounts of THC.
These days though, CBD and the other cannabinoids in cannabis are sharing the spotlight. Because now we know so much about the therapeutic benefits of the other compounds in cannabis, we know how important- and useful they are in medicine especially for patients who want to obtain the medicinal benefits of cannabis without the high. There are low THC strains, but THIS is new.
This week, scientists in Western New York just completed the development of a new strain completely free of THC. According to researchers, this development could be useful for medicine as well as for the hemp industry.
The strain was developed by Canadian researchers at 22nd Century, a biotech company, that worked together with scientists from Anandia Labs. The researchers said that the strain they came up with has all the same properties as regular pot – it looks, smells, and even tastes similar except that it doesn’t have any THC. This means that the strain won’t get you high no matter how much of it you ingest.
I know some of you might be sulking but – THIS is exactly why this strain could be so useful.
Current law states that pot with certain amounts of THC is considered ot be a Schedule 1 illicit substance. However, plants that contain inadequate amounts of THC to be considered psychoactive is considered legal. This includes all CBD products.
Benefits of THC-Free Weed To The Medical Marijuana Industry
Now that scientists have access to THC-free weed, they can focus on further analyzing other cannabinoids in detail to study what therapeutic benefits they have. Researcher Paul Rushton said, “There are hundreds of cannabinoids in the cannabis planta and a lot of them have never really been tested.”
“So by creating, through our technology, different combinations of these compounds we can have new sources for potentially very many new and exciting medicines,” Rushton says. Low-THC strains is nothing new to the medical marijuana community since doctors have already been working with them. But many businesses that manufacture CBD products actually obtain the cannabinoid from hemp plants. CBD is extracted from plants with low THC levels which allows them to develop cannabis products that won’t get them in trouble with the law.
These new THC-free strains will now provide more options for both researchers and medical marijuana companies. It enables them to use more methods for manipulating and isolating certain cannabinoids as well as having a completely new strain they can work with.
Benefits for Hemp Industry
The hemp industry pretty much has been able to stay afloat because they’ve been working with cannabis plants that contain low THC levels. Hemp, which is a variety of the cannabis plant, naturally contains low amounts of THC but if they happen to produce too much THC, growers have no choice but to obliterate their crops.
A THC-free strain is the solution to this problem. Growers who cultivate this train will no longer ever have to worry about hemp crops that may end up producing unacceptable levels of THC. This successful development at Anandia Labs is one of the many research activities being undertaken by the company for medical marijuana.
This development of a THC-free strain is a major breakthrough in the cannabis industry because it allows companies a new way to access other cannabinoids that the plant produces. Doing so can open doors for more studies, developments, and uses of cannabis.
"This is going to be a major new industry," Rushton says. "There's no doubt about this. We're fortunate in many ways to be at the forefront of it. We are looking to have new varieties and intellectual property. We're looking to be major movers in the industry as it takes hold. And I'm very proud that a lot of these advances are actually happening in downtown Buffalo."
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