CULTIVATION

“One way to ensure marijuana can withstand medical scrutiny is growing the plant by standards that meet ethical and moral values which will guarantee the safe consumption of the herb and its derivatives,” emphasised Dr Machel Emanuel, principal investigator of the Life Science Cannabis Research Group at the UWI, Mona.

He says when using the cannabis plant for medical and therapeutic applications, the replicability and consistency of the cannabinoids and terpenoids are paramount to the consumer and the integrity of the medical industry.

One of the ways to guarantee genetic consistency is through the process of asexual propagation. By cultivating from plant cuttings, instead of seeds, he is able to replicate the exact genetics as the parent plant.

Cultivating marijuana from seeds brings about genetic variation through cross-pollination.

Dr Emanuel and his team also observe strict post-harvest best practices aimed at preserving the trichomes: the crystallike glands located on the plant that house the terpenoids and cannabinoids.

Dr Emanuel says he wants his research to influence the decision-making of local policymakers establishing the industry standards.

“Policy decisions should be guided by research. This will ensure we can have some quality control and guarantee that cannabis coming from this island, to be exported, meets a certain aesthetic and organoleptic quality that the consumer can identify with,” he said.

While recreational marijuana use currently accounts for roughly two-thirds of marijuana spending globally, it is expected to swing in favour of medical use as more research findings are published, more countries adopt a medical marijuana framework, and more people, like Jane, are healed.

Researchers have just begun to scratch the surface of truly understanding ganja’s healing properties. American investment firms, however, have taken a keen interest in the industry’s economic potential and over the past four years have invested more than US$50 million to fund cannabis research, agriculture and tech innovations in Israel.

“The real value (of the industry) is in medical marijuana and the protocol from cultivation to medical application is significant,” Dr Emanuel pointed out. “Being able to administer a particular plant that will deliver a particular relief, that’s where the value is.”

*Name changed on request.