Building a Leading Cannabis Company through Scientific Research 

Medicinal Organic Cannabis is undertaking international research, committed to globally recognised research groups and manufacturers to develop the world's best practices processes in safety and quality and to incorporate them in all steps of growing, manufacturing and commercialisation.

The Company has coordinated an interdisciplinary cross-functional team to establish the requirements, evaluate alternatives, develop the business case, and implement the solution. 

The highly skilled and experienced management team has developed an appropriate strategy to expand the capabilities and collaborative relationships necessary to capitalise on the opportunities emerging in the medicinal cannabis industry worldwide. 

Purpose of the Research 

A lack of international uniform standards provides an opportunity for a collaborative and multinational study of lessons learned in the medicinal cannabis industry over the past ten years. This research brings in over 40 industry experts from 20 countries to develop international best practices in the cultivation and production of medical cannabis utilising water based cultivation systems. 

The research will firstly define and secondly implement best practices specifically in the areas of safety and quality to test and examine the cultivation opportunities inherent in aquaponic systems to determine the difference in quality when established best practices in safety and quality are followed.  

Why is this important?

Around the world, new cannabis products are rapidly entering the market. However, they are often lacking the rigorous quality control and safety testing that is common for other pharmaceutical drugs. The current medicinal cannabis industry is strongly led by business interests, while scientists, medical professionals, and Government agencies are typically scrambling to keep up with new developments. 

Along with this rapid change and development, the industry has seen substantial growth of products produced in a variety of methods and using a number of processes for extracting the cannabis oil from the plant. 

Often the method of cultivation is such, that the herbicides and fertilisers used to manage the growth of the cannabis plant are harmful to patients and users. The unregulated use of these chemicals internationally has seen varied results in patient experiences.

In this context, patients are seeking the best and cleanest products to solve a myriad of health issues and have turned to medical cannabis as a solution.  

What has become clear is that not all methods of cultivation and production of cannabis are equal. In fact far from it. Cannabis can be cultivated in a number of methods including soil based, hydroponically (in water) and an emerging cultivation technique that is still in its infancy called aquaponic (also in water and using fish as a method of fertilisation).

Our team believes developing best practices in safety and quality in an aquaponic cultivation technique together with super-critical CO2 extraction can lead to industry defining standards that will treat a greater number of physical conditions. 

What is lacking in the current knowledge

At the time of writing, little of no research has been conducted to determine industry standard best practices in safety and quality. Certainly, no research exists on how organic cultivation principles inherently contained in aquaponics systems can be directed to medicinal cannabis cultivation (11). 

Furthermore, once cultivation and harvest is complete, how does the various extraction methods, including Super-critical CO2 extraction affect the quality and chemical composition of the cannabis oil? 

This research seeks to bridge this gap in knowledge and determine if the finished product of aquaponic grown organic medical cannabis produces purer, higher quality products when extracted using Super-critical CO2. 

Research Objectives

This Australian led study will collaborate with over 40 international experts in the field of medical cannabis cultivation to facilitate research and development of international best practices in the field of medical cannabis. Specifically to define and implement best practices in the areas of safety and quality. This research will develop an understanding of how organic practices is understood and translated internationally with the view to developing best practices in organic cultivation.  Thus the objectives of this research are:

1. Review the safety and quality practices and procedures of cannabis production and medical based products from around the world to better understand how that may apply to Australian situation. 

2. Research, define and implement organic practices in the cultivation and production of medical cannabis as perceived and implemented by an international marketplace and utilising aquaponics as a cultivation vehicle. 

3. Establish a framework for implementing best practices procedures in safety and quality.

4. Test the quality and efficiency of Super-critical CO2 extraction when used with water based organic cultivation and compare to other cultivation and extraction methods. 

5. Publish findings and refine practical techniques in cultivation and extraction of cannabis oils.

References used in this Research Presentation

1.       Romano, L. L., & Hazekamp, A. (2013). Cannabis oil: chemical evaluation of an upcoming cannabis-based medicine. Cannabinoids, 1(1), 1-11.

2.      Goddek, S., Delaide, B., Mankasingh, U., Ragnarsdottir, K., Jijakli, H., & Thorarinsdottir, R. (2015). Challenges of sustainable and commercial aquaponics. Sustainability, 7(4), 4199-4224.

3.      Zuardi, A. W. (2006). History of cannabis as a medicine: a review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatría, 28(2), 153-157.

4.      Rakocy, J. E., Masser, M. P., & Losordo, T. M. (2006). Recirculating aquaculture tank production systems: aquaponics—integrating fish and plant culture. SRAC publication, 454, 1-16.

5.      Goddek, S., Delaide, B., Mankasingh, U., Ragnarsdottir, K., Jijakli, H., & Thorarinsdottir, R. (2015). Challenges of sustainable and commercial aquaponics. Sustainability, 7(4), 4199-4224.

6.      Aladić, K., Jarni, K., Barbir, T., Vidović, S., Vladić, J., Bilić, M., & Jokić, S. (2015). Supercritical CO2 extraction of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seed oil. Industrial crops and products, 76, 472-478.

7.      Radcliffe, C., Maguire, K., & Lockwood, B. (2000). Applications of supercritical fluid extraction and chromatography in forensic science. Journal of biochemical and biophysical methods, 43(1-3), 261-272.

8.      Omar, J., Olivares, M., Alzaga, M., & Etxebarria, N. (2013). Optimisation and characterisation of cannabis extracts obtained by supercritical fluid extraction and focused ultrasound extraction and retention time locking GC‐MS. Journal of separation science, 36(8), 1397-1404.

9.      ElSohly, M. A., & Slade, D. (2005). Chemical constituents of marijuana: the complex mixture of natural cannabinoids. Life sciences, 78(5), 539-548.

10.   Turner, C. E., Elsohly, M. A., & Boeren, E. G. (1980). Constituents of Cannabis sativa L. XVII. A review of the natural constituents. Journal of Natural Products, 43(2), 169-234.

11.    Reiman, A., Welty, M., & Solomon, P. (2017). Cannabis as a substitute for opioid-based pain medication: patient self-report. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 2(1), 160-166.

12.   Blake, D. R., Robson, P., Ho, M., Jubb, R. W., & McCabe, C. S. (2006). Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology, 45(1), 50-52.

13.   Russo, E. B. (2007). History of cannabis and its preparations in saga, science, and sobriquet. Chemistry & biodiversity, 4(8), 1614-1648.

14.   Fankhauser, M. (2002). History of cannabis in Western medicine (pp. 37-51). New York: The Haworth Integrative Healing Press.

15.   Marquardt, M. J. (1996). Building the learning organization: A systems approach to quantum improvement and global success. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

16.   Pauleen, D. J. (2003). Leadership in a global virtual team: An action learning approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(3), 153-162.