FEATURE
There is no grey
area, hemp is
cannabis
We know it’s a plant extract, but how is Cannabidiol born?
And what is the journey like from seed to shelf?
Richard Cunningham, PhD, sets the record straight.
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Firstly, let’s clear one issue up before going
any further because there seems to be a lot of
misinformation out there. Hemp is cannabis,
there is no denying it. But there are distinct strains
of the cannabis plant family, each possessing
different properties, uses and benefits.
Picture an apple or a grape. There any many
different varieties: red, green, sweet and so on,
but the bottom line is they are all still apples and
grapes.
Through generations of selective cultivation,
different strains of cannabis were developed,
where specific properties were selected such
as those grown to be more suitable in different
environments, those which are more fibrous, and
so on.
Industrial hemp, which is a variety of Cannabis
sativa, is one of the fastest growing plants in the
world. It has many industrial usages, such as in
textiles, papers and animal feeds.
Differing from the stains of Cannabis sativa
grown for drug purposes, hemp contains very
low quantities of the psychoactive component
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in which strains that
can be cultivated in the UK under Home Office
licence have to contain under 0.2 percent THC,
whereas in many US states, it is slightly higher at Extracting CBD
0.3 percent.
A recent publication from a research team from
the University of Berkeley in California managed to
bioengineer yeast to produce cannabinoids CBD
and THC using only sugar as fuel. These yeast
‘factories’ in the near future may result in much
more cost effective and environmentally favourable
ways of producing desirable cannabinoids. he also worked as post-doctoral researcher for
a number of years before working in the US at
the Mitchell Cancer Institute in Alabama. Among
his areas of expertise are organic synthesis,
nucleosides, nucleotides, cellular biology,
vitamins, aminoglycosides, drug delivery,
phosphorous chemistry and chemical analysis.
He is now the director of quality at Liquid
However, at the moment, we are not quite there
yet. Today, CBD needs to be extracted from
industrial hemp before it can be utilised. Sciences LLC in the UK.
VAPOUROUND CBD MAGAZINE
You’d be forgiven for thinking that because CBD
comes from hemp, all hemp products contain
CBD. Wrong. CBD must be extracted from hemp
and there are many ways to do this.
CBD is a lipophilic molecule and that means
it is fat soluble. Like olive oil, CBD will not mix
with water. Because it’s lipophilic, one needs to
use a solvent that CBD is soluble in to extract it
properly.
Ethanol or supercritical CO2 extraction are
the preferred and most common methods
employed, although other solvents like butane
may be used. The trouble with butane is you risk
leaving residue from the solvent in the finished
product.
Not all CBD products are made the same. If
you are ever concerned about the quality of
the product you have purchased, any reputable
manufacturer or store should be more than
happy to supply you with a Certificate of Analysis
(COA) upon request. This will show you an exact
breakdown of the cannabinoids in the product.
Dr Richard Cunningham has a PhD in medicinal
chemistry from Queen’s University Belfast where