Sports fans often debate which statistics best quantify a player’s contribution to a team. Commonly referred to as analytics, the approach often tries to reduce questions about player value to one or two calculations.
The impact of a similar approach is being felt in the cannabis industry and, as in sports, the benefit of determining value based on a single measurement—specifically the percentage of THC in a particular strain of marijuana—is up for debate.
In a recent article for Leafly, David Downs described how consumers’ demand for higher THC scores is encouraging growers to shop for labs that will provide the most favorable measurement of THC in their product. All of which raises the question of whether more is necessarily better.
According to one grower interviewed by Downs, “Every lab’s numbers are different. Consistency in THC percentage is the most important thing at this point in time for us. We know what these strains are capable of. When a grow room has no changes to it whatsoever and gets a lower score, it’s a concern—especially in a world with consumers being number hunters.”
Downs points out that just as consumers drive the desire for higher and higher THC scores, they can also do their part to move beyond the idea that THC scores are or should be the true indicator for quality cannabis. According to Josh Wurzer, founder of SC Labs, a consumer doesn’t choose wine based on alcohol content but on taste and flavor. Said Wurzer. “I’m much more interested in the flavor of it (cannabis) and the experiences, and if I wanted to be a little higher I’d hold it in.”
Swetha Kaul, chief scientific officer at Cannalysis Labs in Santa Ana, California, told Downs consumers need to start trusting their senses. And, as Downs points out, judges at the industry’s most prestigious cannabis competition, “The Emerald Cup,” will tell you the highest THC flower never wins.
“In terms of flower, the connoisseur is often not looking at potency at all,” said Ben Grambergu of DYME distribution, a wholesale B2B cannabis distribution firm in Oakland, California. “Nose and eyes are what we judge by.” He contends it is the new smoker that is tying THC percentage to price point and deriving value. Grambergu said the best cannabis he’s smoked this year was 16.8 percent THC, and he didn’t notice until he threw the jar away. He added, “The only thing 30 percent (THC) means to me anymore is that the consumer wants it. It has almost nothing to do with the actual effect.”
To learn more, visit David Downs’ detailed article in the August 8, 2019 issue of Leafly.
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/lab-shopping-thc-inflation-marijuana-2019-leafly-review
CBD Tips
It seems every time a consumer turns around he or she is confronted with another product that is said to contain CBD. Given the murky state of regulation in this arena and the numerous questions about the benefits of such products, it’s no wonder many mature consumers want to know how best to determine they are spending their money wisely, particularly when it comes to wellness and beauty products that contain CBD.
To help, Becky Garrison—writing in Fresh Toast—offers these tips.
Read the Label
If the product label says “hemp seed oil,” then this particular oil may not contain any CBD. Look for CBD oils that have about 10 to 20 milligrams of CBD per dose. A reliable company will have the lab results available for their products.
Ask Where the Hemp was Grown
Be wary if the manufacturer simply states Asia or Europe, as any craft producer will at least be able to zero in on the geographic region where the cannabis was grown.
Ask if the hemp was grown using organic and sustainable means
Try to find out how the CBD was extracted. Avoid products that were manufactured by using industrial solvents. Those products will in fact harm the skin. Also, ask if the CBD is what’s called full spectrum. This means the products are made from the whole plant. Full spectrum CBD oils can be more expensive, but they are thought to provide more of the benefits than a CBD isolate.
Watch out for buzzwords
Finally, be mindful of marketing ploys. Terms such as nano-extracted or phytocannabinoids can sound scientific but they may not mean much and are not necessarily an indicator of how well the CBD oil being advertised actually works.
You can learn more by reading Becky Garrison’s article in the August 9, 2019 issue of the Chicago Tribune or by visiting Freshtoast.com.
Serving Seniors
It’s a widely held belief within the cannabis industry that the senior segment of the market has been growing for some time. For example, data from BDS Analytics, a market research firm for the cannabis industry, suggests 18 percent of marijuana users are baby boomers.
However, many dispensaries have yet to specialize in serving the needs of more mature customers. To address this gap in service, a company founded in Israel has opened a clinic in Beverly Hills, California.
Called NiaMedic, it aims to provide each senior patient with a treatment plan informed by the findings from clinical trials as well as the company’s own data on over 10,000 patients and to help them manage that plan.
After an initial visit to the clinic, patients or caregivers will then go to a local dispensary to buy the products recommended by the clinic’s staff. The nurses at the clinic then spend a month consulting with the patient, gradually adjusting the dosage and delivery method of the cannabis until they help the patient achieve his or her treatment goals.
According to the company, a significant number of patients have seen positive results. An internal study of just over 100 older patients showed that just under 94 percent “reported improvement in their condition” and over half stopped using opioids or other painkillers.
Said Alon Blatt, NiaMedic’s director of business development, “We’re not claiming to cure any diseases. We’re trying to manage the symptoms, to improve quality of life.” He added, “The bulk of the work is case management.”
The company, which doesn’t sell marijuana or have a stake in companies that do, plans on expanding with a number of new clinics in the United States within the next year. It has also started to offer video consultations.
To learn more, visit the July 15, 2019 issue of the Daily Briefing of Advisory.com: ”More seniors want to try medical marijuana. This startup wants to help.”
You can also read the article by Amanda Chicago Lewis in the July 11, 2019 issue of the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2019/07/15/niamedic
Policy and Program Trends
While recent attempts to legalize recreational marijuana use in New Jersey have not been successful, efforts to expand and modify the State’s medical marijuana program have resulted in a number of significant changes.
Once considered one of the more restrictive programs in the country, the program changes signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on July 2, 2019 expanded the range of conditions eligible for coverage and made program services more patient friendly. It also set several standards for service and convenience other states may wish to follow.
Program changes that may be of particular interest to older patients include:
Physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners can prescribe medical marijuana to patients.
Hospitals are allowed to obtain cannabis for patients.
Patients only have to visit their doctor once a year for authorization instead of every three months.
Hospice and terminally-ill patients have no limit on the amount they can obtain on a monthly basis.
Hospitals are prevented from denying patients organ transplant eligibility due to their medical cannabis use.
Edibles (infused food products) will be available for adults in addition to minors, who previously had access.
Patients can designate two caregivers instead of just one.
Dispensaries can deliver medicine to homes, which helps patients with limited mobility.
For a more detailed look at the changes in New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana program you can read Daniel Ulloa’s article in the July 17, 2019 of Freedom Leaf or visit the State’s official statement on changes to the program.
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562019/approved/20190702d.shtml
Tech Talk
A growing number of mature consumers who are looking for a convenient way to use cannabis have turned to vape pens that are loaded with cannabis oil.
However, not all pens, or oils offer the same kind of experience. To help, Mary Jane Gibson explored several key factors in her recent article in Rolling Stone. She suggests the basic distinction to make when it comes to the oils used in vape pens is between THC distillate and live resin.
Neema Samari, CEO and co-founder of Cannabiotix, a cannabis company operating in California and Nevada that specializes in producing boutique cannabis flower and extracts said, “Distillate is pure, raw, isolated cannabinoids, meaning that it’s high in potency. “
Samari added that some customers choose their cannabis oils the same way a teenager shops for liquor—based on alcohol by volume—buying whatever has the highest level of THC, ( the cannabinoid that gets you “high”). But, she points out, packing a high THC punch doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best product.
When THC distillate is extracted from cannabis the distillate is stripped of impurities, including the chemical compounds that give cannabis its flavor and aroma: terpenes. Terpenes exist in a variety of plants, but in cannabis, they help steer the high.
Gibson points out that the other form of oil usually found in vape pens, live resin, is extracted by freezing and processing live cannabis flower. This process preserves the aromatic terpenes as well as the cannabinoids for a naturally flavorful extract that lets the user taste more of the plant, what it was fed and how it was grown. Or, as cannabis expert Jordan Lams told Gibson, “If live resin is the peppermint plant, distillate is extracted and refined peppermint oil.”
Typically, a live resin extract vape cartridge won’t be as potent as a distillate cartridge. The THC percentage of resin usually hovers somewhere around 45 or 50 percent, while distillate can weigh in at 85 or 90 percent THC.
However, because of what’s described as the “entourage effect,” many find that choosing a vape pen filled with cannabis oil based on its THC levels alone does not necessarily produce a satisfying experience.
As Gibson explained, “The combined effect of THC and CBD working together with terpenes and flavonoids produces a greater effect than if working separately. Think of it as the glorious elements of an ice cream sundae all coming together in your mouth to zap your brain’s pleasure center, rather than a spoonful of hot fudge. Wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying without the ice cream, nuts and cherry, would it?”
More information about cannabis oils and the choices consumers face when using a vape pen can be found in Mary Jane Gibson’s detailed article in the August 14, 2019 issue of Rolling Stone.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or by calling 347-528-8753.