You can’t really know much about the cannabis industry without having at least a basic understanding of extraction. It’s a major part of the industry, but you really don’t hear about it being talked about enough.
Darwin Millard, chief science officer for Final Bell Corp., AKA The Spock of Cannabis, has made a name for himself talking about cannabis – specifically extraction.
Millard specializes in mechanical and solvent based extraction methodologies. For the past 17-years, he has focused on the extraction and manufacture of nutraceutical products comprising phytocannabinoids and other bioactive constituents from the cannabis plant.
In the second in a series of episodes within the Insuring Cannabis podcast focused on science, we learn about cannabis extraction. Starting with an extraction 101 explainer, we get into topics that include refinement, isolates and distillates, color remediation, and more with Millard.
Following are takeaways from that conversation.
“So, extraction is done for a number of reasons, but in the cannabis industry, it’s pretty simple,” Millard said. “We are extracting the active ingredients from the cannabis plant and concentrating those into a form that lets us then refine that or use it as a raw ingredient, or in some cases, people do consume those extracts directly. So, what are we extracting? We are extracting the cannabinoids, and terpenes from the cannabis plant.”
The initial extract produced from looks like crude oil, which is typically darker in color. There may be a need to improve color, to enhance the taste, or to improve concentration of the cannabinoids. That’s where the next step comes in and the product is refined to what is often a golden yellow or even clear liquid depending on the clarity and level of purity.
Millard also got into a discussion on isolates and distillates.
“Most of the time, a distillate refers to a cannabis extract that has been distilled. So, any type of cannabis extract that has gone through a distillation process theoretically could be called a distillate. But for the most part, the market is talking about stuff that is in excess of 80% total cannabinoid concentration … even above, say, 90, 95%, CBD or THC in some cases.”
Isolates are at nearly 100% pure of a target compound.
“They typically range in plus-97% target concentrations for say, THC, CBD, etc. So very, very, very pure or very concentrated with very minimal other types of contaminants. And they’ll typically be a dry powder. They’re so purified, so concentrated, that they’re no longer liquid. They can be crystalline in form or sometimes like a gummy paste in consistency.”
To bring the topic back to insurance and risk, Mallard touched upon some of the important aspects of extraction that insurers and risk managers should pay close attention to.
“So I think the standards around this (process)bare rather nebulous and perhaps need to be flushed out for our industry on how you would properly insure these facilities, this equipment, even potential personal liability, etc.,” he said.
He called attention to the work of ASTM International, a standards organization that develops voluntary consensus technical standards for a range of materials, products, systems and services.
The group is looking to create these standards and has a new technical subcommittee dedicated to banking and insurance topics.
Related:
- Takeaways from Our Conversation on Carrier-Broker Relations
- Takeaways from Our Conversation on ‘Behavior Products’
- Takeaways from Our Conversation on The Science of Cannabis and Toxicology
- Takeaways from Our Conversation on Selling Cannabis Insurance in Tougher Times
- Takeaways from Our Conversation on Insuring Magic Mushrooms
Topics Cannabis
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