I am Jason Burford, the formulation chemist for Landrace Bioscience. I make your favorite cannabinoids water-soluble and tasty. Ask me anything!

Ok, what are the chemical differences between Delta-8, Delta-9 and HHC? And are there metabolic differences between them in the various forms of consuming them?

Delta-8, Delta-9 (I'll abbreviate them d8 and d9) are isomers of one another. HHC is almost an isomer, but instead of having a single double bond it has a fully saturated ring, so it has two extra hydrogens.
Anecdotally, d8 and d9 have similar effects, with d9 being the stronger of the two. HHC is said to be somewhere in between. From a biological perspective, they're all metabolized roughly the same way, and their effects could be attributed to their affinity for CB1 receptors in the brain.

It's tough for me to answer in more detail about biology specifics, there's a lot of emerging research, especially on HHC. Hopefully we'll know more in the near future.

For ingestion, is it advisable to decarboxylate d8 and hhc as is preferable for d9?

And thank you very much for your time.

Although it probably exists somewhere, I don't expect you would come across HHCa or d8-THCa very often. Because of the way they're most commonly produced, they're already decarboxylated by the time they reach the production stage.

If anything reads HHCa or d8-THCa, then I would say yes, decarb them first if you're interested in the mental effects.

Sorry to have gotten off topic with my follow-up questions. I realize this is supposed to be more about your product and the various potential applications it has. It really is fascinating. The water soluble carrier tech is definitely a compelling aspect. I know it's an IP and trade process issue, so I am honestly not even going to ask, but I am truly curious about the chemistry and possibly structure of it.

It is a publicly available patent if you're like to take a look at it:

https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2021091916A1/

There is, as always in patents, a lot of obfuscatory language, but it should give you an idea of how one example of this tech can look.

Would like to follow up on that. Is there any evidence to suggest that these isomers and related compounds are more or less addictive than d9? I was someone who abused the hell out of THC and was definitely addicted. Now this is just an anecdote but I also relapsed on this d8 distillate along with HHC as well and found it really messed with my head. And it messed with my head in a way that THC did not. Obviously this is anecdotal evidence, but what does the research say?

I think concentrates and distillates in general tend to bring out the worst in people who already have a predisposition to addictive behavior like myself, but I also found that they seemed even worse than d9 oil which I had used probably ~10 years ago. But it seemed less refined, I think it was made from live resin so that may have been the difference, it still had all the associated plant compounds in it.

Appreciate your time and the AMA.

I'm not familiar with any research on addiction and any cannabinoids, unfortunately. I know that the primary differences are their interaction with endocannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

A lot of times, since research is constantly coming out and developing, the answer is unfortunately just what works for you. The biggest advice I can give is to look for a reputable supplier, one with as long a reputation as you can find and one which will provide a certificate of analysis for every one of their products. This will ensure that whatever you choose to intake, you're getting exactly what you expect.

All the best, I hope you're doing well now.

How does your matrix differ from the final product, what does the consumer do to convert it and why is it legal to send regardless of THC legality?

So our matrix is based on an existing technology called a SNEDDS, an acronym for self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system. Cannabis oil can be heated and mixed into this matrix, which then allows it to mix into beverages. The upside is that customers can use their own cannabis oil at their facility, we just provide the matrix.

It's a bit hard to describe in words, but the matrix can be thought of as a lifeboat for cannabinoids, which allows it to be mixed with water without separating.

Is it effectively an emulsifier?

SENDS might be fancy and specialized, but at its core, yes it's an emulsifier.

which brand of vape pen has the least garbage in it?

The industry has a lot of secrecy and fly-by-night companies present in it. I can't recommend any particular brands as I'm not familiar with many, but I would say choose a brand that has a long reputation and offers detailed certificates of analysis on each of their products. That will lead you in at least the right direction.

Hi, what happen to the THC in a process where CBD is isolated? Is that how it works?

Also,

Could you make a chilled fizzy juice dink that could get high?

Thanks in advance.

In hemp-derived distillates, CBD is the dominant cannabinoid. By a stroke of pure luck, CBD is less soluble in pentane than THC, which allows us to manipulate the temperature and do some really fun physical chemistry.

For example, we can pour 10 kg of hemp distillate into a jacketed, vacuum chamber, add 20 kg of pentane, and mix it until homogenous. One it's fully mixed, we drop the temperature fast down to -30C, and let it mix for a while. Once it's cold enough you'll see the CBD physically separate from the mixture. What's left behind we call "mother liquor", and it has a relatively high percentage of d9-THC, along with several other minor cannabinoids and a good amount of CBD leftover.

So in summary, it's left over in the mother liquor, and we can then use that in other experimental processes, although we can't sell it in Tennessee yet.

As for the fizzy drink, yes we can! I actually am working on a blackberry, strawberry, and root beer for a customer right now. The blackberry one is pretty killer, in my humble opinion.

Are you worried about residual solvents using a petroleum product extraction step?

Yes, actually that's a big cause for concern.

We no longer produce raw material as Landrace, there are other companies which are able to do it much more efficiently so we decided to stick with where we shine best.

What these other companies do is vacuum dry the result, and then perform a "residual solvent test". This makes sure that the customer has no residual solvents in their final product.

One of our recent products in an immunity tincture which contains CBDA and CBGA, which have been shown in vitro to help reduce incidence of infection from SARS-CoV-2.

You're a scientist, you know that this sentence to laypeople will be more misleading than illuminating. Laypeople, in vitro tests, while important, end up not reflecting what happens in a body the vast majority of the time.

So why would you say it like that?

You're absolutely right, I specified in vitro to try and be transparent, I'll elaborate further.

For laypeople, in vitro is done on cells in a test tube or dish. These cells are separated from a body, which is incredibly complex, and leads to in vitro tests showing amazing results which often don't jive well with what actually happens in vivo.

In vivo, is in a body. This can be in an animal, which can also be different than a human due to differences in biology as well as metabolism.

To be very clear, our tincture will not cure Covid. There is a single study which is done in vitro which suggests that CBDA and CBGA can have an effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If you down a whole bottle, it won't magically cure you.

As a company, we strive to provide transparent information in an industry full of obfuscation. If customers want to try CBDA and CBGA as a preventative, we want to give them access to high quality, clearly dosed products.

You ever go to a Chattanooga Lookouts game?

I hope this isn't sacrilege, but I'm not a huge baseball fan. That said, I have been to a lookouts game! It's required to continue living in Chattanooga, I think.

Cool. As an FYI, I had a client who manufactured and sold CBD consumables. The legality of marketing their products was a nightmare. I really hope the fed loosens up their bullshit restrictions on marijuana.

You and me both, we're fortunate that our local precinct has explicitly decided to not pursue CBD and even d8-THC businesses for now. With all the money that's behind the hemp industry, we hope that there will be a big enough push to make it nationwide.

Any concern of impurities and percent yield when dealing specifically with delta 8? The lack of regulation takes me back to organic chem lab and terrifies me lol.

We use a local laboratory called New Bloom Labs. The lead chemist there is Natalie, and she is absolutely brilliant. I was skeptical until I saw the separation of the d8-THC and d9-THC peaks in her HPLC analysis and I was instantly a huge fan.

All this to say, we have a company in-house which does conversion for us, using methods and people we trust, and we have a fantastic third-party laboratory. It was a lot of trial and error, for sure, but we're very fortunate to have the people we have.

So I did a little research and apparently I have an enzyme in my liver that makes edible thc not work. Is anyone in your field looking into that?

While that doesn't surprise me, I actually haven't heard of that specifically. Someone out there is trying to get high and failing and has made it their mission to fix it, I'm sure, but no one that I know.

Could you share a little more about the enzyme?

Basically an enzyme in my liver called CYPC29 is responsible for metabolizing delta 9 thc into hydroxy 11 thc and then into something passable in the kidneys. In some people like me that enzyme works too fast and metabolized all the hydroxy 11 thc before it can effect my brain.

So far I've brainstormed a few options but it's vapor ware ATM. Various drugs and chemicals can inhibit that liver enzyme I just don't know which ones are the safest to use and how effect they are at inhibiting that enzyme. The second solution is basically the first solution but using natural compounds. Apparently garlic is a natural inhibitor for that enzyme but idk how much or if it actually even works.

The only real world solution to see what edibles feel like is getting a hydroxy 11 thc cart. In the case of the cart I've noticed that with 3 back to back big puffs I can get high for like 15 minutes but not very high. I think this is because from the lungs the hydroxythc is getting in my blood stream and some of it is going to my brain and some of it is going to my liver where it's processed too quickly to maintain the high.

Wow, that's really fascinating. So that enzyme is part of the Cytochrome P450 group that you hear about all the time in the natural products world. One thing that seems to be the go to for inhibition of those is grapefruit juice, though I'm not sure how it affects CYP2C9 specifically.

Thank you for sharing.

Should I be able to tell the difference (based on the effects the product has on me) between THC gummies sold as "sativa" vs "indica" - because I can't feel any difference in the products I've tried. They seem the same. Is the "strain" advertised on typical gummies just marketing?

So first I will say, it's marketing.

However, there are some people who say, and some evidence which suggests, that terpenes play a big role in how cannabinoids are experienced. How far this effect goes, and what exact terpenes do what, is still under investigation, but the idea is that the terpene profile difference in actual sativa vs indica (not distillates) is what leads to their different effects.

Gummies are using distillates, so those little variations are largely ironed out. There could be some factors in the 5-10% "unknown" in distillates, but I haven't seen any evidence for this yet.

Is there a company that analyzes cannabinoids for levels of THC and other active ingredients for the general marketplace?

Something along the lines of nutrition facts that you find on foodstuffs.

I'm not familiar with any companies that will do this for free. There are hundreds of cannabis laboratories that will analyze samples and tell you their contents of cannabinoids specifically, but it costs about $75 per test in my experience.

As for other active ingredients, I know that standards are extremely expensive, so most often a lab will specialize in just a few compounds. Finding something that analyzed lion's mane polysaccharides, cannabinoids, and mitragynine all together would be difficult and expensive I think.

How does one become a formulation scientist?

In my case, I got my degree in chemistry then got extraordinarily lucky that 30-year experienced PhD chemist retired at my company and I happened to be the only one to take his place. Fortunately, it turned out that I had both the background and a knack for it.

More generally, I think that startups offer a lot of upward mobility for people just starting out, the trade off is the risk that the company could fail.

I wish I had more to offer, I know that the grind feels endless.

Do you have a BS, MS, or PhD in chemistry to be doing this type of work? How many years of experience did you have prior to this?

I have a BS in chemistry. In formulation I had no years of experience, although I have been working full time in laboratory settings since around 2016.

My case is rare, and I'm very fortunate to be where I'm at.

As an enthusiast interested in making my own tincture, do you have any resources you’d be willing to share in terms of learning the process of decarb, extraction, concentration, and then Storage?

I’m thinking educational materials

This is a great question. When we started out, there weren't many educational materials aside from the forum future4200.com, and honestly while it's a public forum prone to poor information, there are some solid materials there and some people with information that I've referenced for many problems.

Most of our processes were acquired through trial and error, and much of it I wouldn't mind sharing, but it would be too time intensive for this format. I'll keep this in mind, though. Providing a simple user guide could be really useful.

In the meantime, the forum I referenced above probably has the vast majority of what you need to get started, but I would treat it like Reddit and take anything you find there with a grain of salt. Always double check!

Could you address just the storage question? Is there any way to store a concentrate for many years without significant degradation other than cryogenically?

I've been in the industry for 3 years, and I can't say that I've tried to store anything for that long. I also haven't done a lot of research into it, but I can speak from a general chemist perspective.

Aside from cryogenically, I'd say the principles that apply to preserving most chemicals would still stand for cannabinoid concentrates: low temperatures, low oxygen.

A refrigerator and a nitrogen blanket prior to sealing up the material is the simplest I can think would make a noticeable impact. Above that would be a vacuum sealed sample stored in a freezer. The best I think would be absolute zero in a perfect vacuum, but that probably isn't realistic.

I wish that I could be more help!

What type of modifications do you do to improve solubility? (in water)

Oil and water don't mix because one is polar and one is non-polar. In chemistry, the general idea is that polar mixes with polar (sugar and water), while non-polar mixes with non-polar (cannabinoids and oil).

Overcoming this polarity is the key behind any disparate mixtures, which is done with emulsifiers. For example, in mayonnaise eggs act as an emulsifier because they contain lecithin.

In our case, our matrix is a combination of several emulsifiers which reduces the charge experienced by the individual cannabinoids and water, kind of like a bridge between the two. Ordinarily, you'd need to use extremely high energy to reduce these particle sizes, that's an ultrasonic homogenizer or microfluidizer, but in our unique blend it can reduce those charges down enough for it to spontaneously emulsify without the use of high energy methods, which gives us a whole lot of flexibility.

So it's Dawn dish soap?

Got it. 👍

Busted, the secret is out!

so like propylene glycol

Sure, propylene glycol has both non-polar and polar properties which makes it a great solubilizer. That's one reason you'll find it in a lot of vape pens, since it can mix the cannabinoids with the flavorings.

From a chemistry/biology perspective, is it weird for tolerance to go down with use? I used to tolerate 10mg hybrids gummies pretty well, but now even 4mg puts me in the same state. Additional: I can't tolerate smoking at all anymore (wasn't a problem when I was about 18); for some reason, it makes me throw up.

The endocannabinoid system is bonkers, I'll give you that. It's hard for me to speak specifically because biology is not my main field, but I can speak generally from my understanding of what other people have told me.

Generally, with increased use, tolerance will go up. However, there's also a lot of factors which can play into this. What you've eaten recently as well as your general diet can affect how cannabinoids affect you. Your genetics play a role, some people have naturally higher tolerance. Another factor is that there's an issue with companies mislabelling dosages, so it may be much stronger than advertised.

And it does seem that for some people, more use makes tolerance go down, like in your case it sounds like. There may be research which can speak to why this is, but if there is I haven't read it yet unfortunately. I hope this gives a little insight into some possibilities, though.

Are there any benefits for one who already has access to Nature's Own THC™ to switching to Delta 8 or CBD?

As someone who observed the negative effects of "Spice" or "K2" in others - I am wary to approach analogues, isomers, etc.

Any advice?

edit: Anecdotally, you look a lot like some Burfords I know.

Generally when I recommend products to anyone, I'll suggest looking for a company with a long reputation and one which provides a certificate of analysis for their products. Next, I'll suggest looking for combinations of cannabinoids rather than isolated blends, because the entourage effect (while we don't fully understand it) is backed up by anecdotal evidence as well as clinical evidence. You get more bang for your buck out of 50 mg blend than a 50 mg isolate. Finally, in your case I'd say that you could just try them out if that's feasible for you. Trial and error is a big part of this industry for the foreseeable future, and with a company as reputable as Nature's Own, I don't think there's too much risk of a "spice" or "K2" issue arising.

Also, I'm glad to know the Burford genes run strong, and honestly a little surprised you know more than one Burford. I didn't think we were a widespread bunch.

Hi Jason!

Can you speak a bit to the solibilization process you use to generate the water-soluble THC while maintaining its functionality? Do you think that this is a process that could be (legally) replicated by a skilled and trained organic chemist in a home laboratory?

Do you end up with something more like an emulsion as an end product or is this a truly soluble product? I assume the former given the more nonpolar character of the molecule! Thanks.

Thanks for the question!

I mentioned elsewhere, our SENDS technology is based on an existing technology called a SNEDDS (self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system). So to answer your second question, it is much more like an emulsion, as there is no chemical change affecting the cannabinoids at all, unlike processes like glycosylation which will make it more soluble by changing the molecule itself.

As the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat. With access to the right materials, a similar but legally different enough process could be accomplished, I'm sure.

It looks like my reply may not have gone through.

There's more than one way to skin a cat, the saying goes. With access to the right materials and knowledge, I'm sure that it could be accomplished in a home laboratory setting.

As for our tech, it is much more akin to an emulsion. It's based on an existing technology called SNEDDS (self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system), so it acts as a sort of life raft for the unaltered cannabinoids allowing them to mix with water. It's a small raft though, our average particle size is 14 nm!

What do you think about the recent development of some online stores openly selling edibles with d9 using the farm bill loophole that allows <0.3% d9 by weight? (Not linking in case it's disallowed.)

The farm bill legislation has a good deal of phrasing which shows a lot of ignorance on the part of the legislators. I don't mean this to be derogatory, it's really common for people not steeped in the facts of the industry, but a little bit of math will show that you can easily have psychoactive products on the shelves with the <0.3% rule.

To answer your question, I think that it's great that people are selling products which are legal within the bill. It may not be to the spirit of the law, but it fits the letter, and personally I think that it will help lead the way to a broad federal legalization, which will open up more opportunities for a lot of people. Obviously this position is a bit self-serving, since it will help Landrace as well.

Hey, I bought some edibles a bit ago and the guy behind the counter was going on about how they had some "nano technology" to make it absorb faster. I kind of blew it off, but they did have a noticeably quicker come up to the other gummies I have tried in the past.

The packaging still said THC, so I dont think they converted it to 11-hydroxy-thc before hand to bypass the need to metabolize it. (Unless they can get away with marking any form of THC as just "THC")

I know there are some solvents such as DMSO that change the absorption mechanism of some drugs (such as skin patches), but I assume that isn't what was being used in those edibles... Since people would freak out about "chemicals", and specifically with DMSO people would complain about a garlic taste.

Any idea on the mechanism of action used?

"Nano technology" has become a bit of an overused buzz word within the industry, and most of the time it's not backed up by any specific measurements, especially in edibles. That's not to say that it doesn't work fast, just that the phrase "nano" often doesn't mean exactly that.

So DMSO is one that people will sometimes use, if there's a low enough concentration and enough other flavors, the taste can be pretty mild. There are companies which sell fast-acting gummies that are patent-pending, so I'm not sure the mechanisms they use.

We also have fast-acting which uses a method unique from our competitors, and I hate to be opaque, but I'm still working on that patent so unfortunately I can't be more specific about our technology just yet. I will say that we have reports of onset as quickly as 6 minutes, though more typically around 10-15 minutes, which is only anecdotal, but is very encouraging to me.

In any case, I think that generally anything which improves solubility of oil compounds will improve the absorption of those compounds. Essentially, emulsifiers.

Do you know anything about CHS? Cannibinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome? It occurs to long time, heavy users who start getting abdominal pain, nausea, and even vomiting from smoking weed, the only cure is to stop and cannibinoids all together. As a sufferer from this syndrome, I was just curious if it is being talked about. Thanks!

Someone else asked this, and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I have never heard of it until today. I already have a few tabs open on my browser to do some research, hopefully next time I come around I can have more to say about it. I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering.

What’s your opinion on the vastly different reported effects based on cannabis strain?

One compelling suggestion I've heard is that the terpene profile is what changes the effects of different strains, all else being equal. There is evidence that suggests that terpenes can have measurable biological effects, however other studies show that they don't affect cannabinoid receptors specifically.

If I had to guess, I would say that it's the unique cannabinoid profile providing different levels of modulation of cannabinoid receptors, along with maybe some terpene interaction somewhere along the way. However, this is just a guess.

Hey Jason do you use zeta potential for any part of the process of making thc water soluble? If so Id love to hear about how you are using it!

I am only familiar with zeta potential as a measurement, and not intimately so. I'm fortunate to have been given a product which works remarkably well without much tweaking or calculation.

So while I can say that we "use" the zeta potential in the sense that it's certainly involved in any emulsion system, it's not something I calculate or work with closely. Sorry about that, I wish I could speak more on it.

I saw a study from The Salk Institute about CBN and it slowing mitochondrial degradation in Alzheimer's patients.

Do you have any products for this?

This is the study I think that you're referencing, for anyone who'd like to check it out.

CBN is an interesting cannabinoid about which we're learning more every day it seems. I have a special interest in brain-related disease states, and the more we can do to stave off that kind of insidious problem, the better.

As for products, yes! The company for whom we formulated the immunity tincture, we also made a line of brain health supplements which we're continuing to expand in the coming months. You can find more about it here.

To me, THC tinctures and edibles have a strong taste similar to oregano. Is there a way to remove or camouflage the taste? I don’t like it.

There are different ways to do this. Citrus flavors can be a good way for some people to mask the harsh or bitter tastes of cannabinoid distillates and crude oils. Some companies will also make liquid and powdered bitter blockers that you can add when making tinctures. We use a company called Mafco, for example.

If you're just purchasing this, it may just be a matter of trial and error to find a brand that works best for you. I know some people that will mix in a tincture with their cream in their coffee which provides a decent bitter "countertaste" of sorts. This can work I think with any sort of fatty drink, like milk, almond milk, etc. Mixing into food could work as well. I hope this helps.

Ingesting cannabis has zero effect on me. I have tried high strength legal beverages, tinctures and candies to no avail. Any reason why this might be? Smoking or vaporizing gets the job done just fine.

Any answer I give would only be wild speculation. It could be that you metabolize it too quickly and don't respond to 11-hydroxy-thc, it could be that the ones you tried are too weak still and your tolerance is crazy high, or it could be ghosts in your stomach that steal the drugs. Maybe not the last one, but in the spirit of wild speculation I figured I'd throw it in.

Sorry I can't be more help. We do have a fast-acting edible that I developed, maybe something like that could work for you. If you'd like more information on that, feel free to dm me.

Do you feel that the edible cannabis market is destroying the social aspects of recreational marijuana? Cannabis has always been a communal and sharing experience for most of its history, but now people eating and drinking THC so frequently, it feels like the sharing aspects are narrowed and disappearing. Thoughts?

This isn't something that I've considered before, and I don't know that I'm versed enough in it to speak about it. Generally, there is a trend toward rampant commercialization of everything once held sacred, and while that does reduce the apparent value of the sacred thing, it also makes it more available.

As long as there's people who consider it sacred, I think that the social spirit will continue, you just may have to look harder through the noise of the huge number of people partaking now.

That is a great question though, and if you have more information for me to learn more, I'd love to hear it.

What is the best cbd or whatever for sleeping and staying asleep?

There are a few routes you could check out. CBG:CBD, a blend which I'm a big fan of, is good for reduction of inflammation as well as anxiety reduction. Sometimes the anxiety of falling asleep can be a big factor.

Many sleep products will include CBN, and anecdotally people say this helps with falling asleep and staying asleep. I will say, however, there's not a lot of great research for this, and most of it points to it having no effect on sleep.

d8-THC is one cannabinoid a lot of people will turn to, as it tends to be a more mellow high than d9-THC and can make you feel drowsy helping you fall asleep.

My general rules of thumb for recommendation are: look for a company with a long reputation that provides certificates of analysis for their products; use combinations rather than isolated cannabinoids; and be patient, because it takes a lot of trial and error for almost everyone.

Since it is water soluble that means it can be administered by IV and it means it may have greeater therapeutic effect. Have y'all done any testing yet? If so, what are your results? If not, what do you see trials looking like and testing for?

Our SENDS technology is actually inspired by vaccine research that my predecessor, Dr. Honorio Obias, performed over his 30 year career. We're in talks now with several people who are interested in bringing us from the recreational into the medical, along with the chaos and excitement that would bring.

In short, we haven't yet, but we're looking into it. I would say our trial would look for speed of onset as well as efficacy for different disease states and disorders. That's really vague and broad, I know, but that's about as far as we've gotten into it to my knowledge.

What inspired you to want to get into this line of work?

I mentioned this in another comment kind of, I'll elaborate a bit more here.

The chemistry field is full of old chemists with a lot of experience, which is actually very valuable. This means that there are only a few positions that exist, and that they stay filled for a long time. I was interested in the chemistry and pharmacology of plant-based compounds since high school, and the hemp industry was the latest trend.

I was working as a quality control technician at an ink manufacturer, not terribly happy about it but QC jobs are basically all you can find as a bachelor's degree holding chemist. I saw a job posting for a laboratory technician at a hemp startup, and I basically called and begged for a job. I didn't realize at the time, but fortunately it led to an awesome position that I feel very fortunate to be in.

That’s great!!! And very interesting I didn’t read any precious post but thank you for elaborating that more for me because I find cannabis to very interesting because I take CBD in a liquid form have you ever used anything with CBD?

Ironically enough, I only will occasionally take a CBG:CBD blend. I don't get high very well, so I avoid taking any of the psychoactive cannabinoids except what's required of me as part of making new formulations.

So did your role start out in analytical or more on the formulation side?

Landrace was and still is in many ways a startup, so my roles were (and are) pretty varied. I thought originally I was coming in to do analysis, and while I did work with that, I was primarily in production. From there I moved into my current role of formulation.

How are you able to make separation via HPLC economically viable?

The short answer: we weren't, despite how hard we tried.

The longer answer: separation of cannabinoids is tricky because they're all so chemically similar. Either you get incredibly small yields because you have to cut your desired product finely to get it isolated from things eluting concurrently, or else you have to have massive amounts of capital to pour into huge machinery which can do it more efficiently. We tried the first one, but many companies with bigger and better machines led us to a different part of the industry.

This is the primary reason we focus on formulation, instead of being a one-stop shop from farm to table, so to speak.

1) edit: removed - saw the answer below…

2) self-emulsifying systems are used often in cosmetics, for instance bath oils or gel-to-milk systems. Would you say that the self emulsification system you use is novel (not in a patent scope for beverages) when considering the state of the art of other industries?

3) “No machinery required”, are you telling us that you are using no machinery in the production of you self-solubilisons system what so ever? (yes I count a regular automated stirrer as machinery too).

Thanks for the AMA

1. I'm not familiar with the state of the art in the cosmetic industry, so it's hard for me to say. The "novel" part of SENDS I would consider is its clarity in beverages and ease of use as compared to competition.

2. I will admit that we use a hot plate to warm up the oils and materials, so you've got me there. I did try mixing all the materials in a test tube once and shaking it for a long time, and it eventually did work as planned, which was pretty cool from a curiosity standpoint. Maybe I should rephrase in the future that we use only simple "machinery" that is accessible in most lab settings, like a hot plate and stirrer.

Any research regarding cannibinoid hyperamesis or the mechanisms by which it manifests going on? It sucks that cannabis can cause nausea as well as fix it.

I'm a bit surprised that I haven't heard of this. I can't speak to it right now except to regurgitate a wikipedia abstract, but that's probably not what you're looking for. I'll do my research and hopefully next go round I can have more to say.

As a cancer sufferer, I have been recommended medicinal cannabis oil. I have it ready at home, but I haven’t taken it yet because apparently it is readable in your system for 30 days. I can be arrested for a DUI if the police test me. I have to drive a few times a week to drop my kids to school. (Obviously the next day, not while being affected) Is there any way to speed up the expulsion of cannabis oil from my system?

That's a difficult question to answer. There are a lot of ways people say that you can speed expulsion of cannabinoids from your system, but I haven't read any research that suggests any of them actually work.

My suggestion is that you speak with your doctor to see what options are available to you in terms of proof that you're legally allowed to be consuming cannabis. I hope that you're able to find an answer.

Have you heard of CHS and the effects it has on some long term users? We are all hoping someone will pick up the ball and research what actually happens to us and why.

You're the third to ask, and again I'm embarrassed to say that in the time I've been working, I've not heard of this condition. I'm looking into it, and hopefully I can have a better answer soon.

What’s up fellow chemist.

Thermo or Aligent HPLC’s?

It's been a while, I think the HPLC I used in undergrad was a Thermo, but most recently we had Shimadzu HPLCs in our building. It might just be that I was exposed to it more, but I did prefer the Shimadzu.

If I wanted to try out the immunity tincture for covid, where can I get it?

This is available via a customer of ours that we worked closely with on development. You can find it here!

Have you guys ever added the soluablized D8 and d9 to water and then fed that water to your plants to see if you could crank up the THC content?

We haven't tried that, but that's an interesting idea. My first thought is that any amount you could put into the plant via the water would pale in comparison to the amount that these strains can produce themselves.

I will ask the head of our grow operation about it though, maybe he can inform me otherwise.

Is the end product any different than already existing products? things like beverages, topicals, and and dissolvables are already quite common

I'd like to think that our beverages stand out in their clarity and taste as compared to our competition, but it is true that we're entering into a saturated market.

While we do white label products, our goal is to provide an alternative method of making end products which is more cost effective for our customers. Homogenizing machinery can be expensive, and a lot of people with great ideas don't have the capital to make their products come to life, so our value proposition is to ease the cost of solubilization.

Do you like Breaking Bad? Is it accurate from a chemistry standpoint?

I did enjoy Breaking Bad. I don't know the exact chemistry involved in producing methamphetamine, although we were taught the chemical process in Organic Chemistry I in college. It's a surprisingly simple conversion if you have the right starting materials. They used a different method in the show, but my understanding is that it was researched and intended to be accurate enough from a chemistry standpoint, although obviously with artistic liberty.

For example, pure methamphetamine would be a colorless crystalline solid, not blue. Organic chemistry is pretty boring from that standpoint, as the majority of what you deal with is colorless white crystalline solids.

Do you have something that cures tinnitus of the ears?

I'm afraid not. I have seen research being done into regeneration of the fine hairs in the ears used in the process of hearing, and I think the current theory is that tinnitus is caused by damage to these hairs. However, I'm not familiar with any research into cannabinoids specifically used for tinnitus.

What's your favourite colour?

Half my wardrobe including what I'm wearing is green, and so is the theme on my Google chrome windows, so I'm gonna say forest green.

Looks like this AMA is likely finished but just on the chance you see this Jason. My brother has just started trying edibles to ease the nausea side effects of the treatments he's receiving to combat a rare and aggressive cancer. So far he's not sure if the gummies he's taken have had any effect. Is there an edible you might recommend?

I'm really sorry to hear about your brother.

For recommendations is difficult for me to make a specific recommendation for any brands, as they vary widely in locations. My best advice is to find a company with a long reputation, one that provides certificates of analysis for all their products, aim for blends over isolates, and in your case I'd say find a company with customer service willing to direct you to products with best outcomes for cancer treatment, most likely ones with high d9-THC.