Category Archives: Marijuana Research

Sativa, Indica, Ruderalis and Cannabis Sub-species

Cannabis Sub-species

Since the 1970s, cannabis has been divided into three sub-species (often confused as different species), C. indica, C. sativa, C. ruderalis, with ruderalis largely being considered ‘wild cannabis,’ not fit for medicinal or recreational uses. C. sativa is tall and laxly branched with relatively narrow leaflets, C. indica is shorter, conical in shape, and has relatively wide leaflets, and C. ruderalisis short, branchless, and grows wild in central Asia.

Sativa

A Cannabis sativa plant can have a THC/CBD ratio 4-5 times that of Cannabis Indica, that is to say sativa strains have high levels of THC and in comparison low levels of CBD. The Plants are generally tall and slender characterised by narrow serrated leaves and loose spear-like flower clusters that can be extremely resinous. Sativa cannabis plants can often reach 2-3 metres in height and will have longer flowering times, taking between 10 and 14 weeks to reach full maturity.

Sativas are well known for their cerebral high and primary effects that focus on the mind and emotions.

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Indica

Cannabis indica is a short and stocky genus of the cannabis genus which is thought to have originated in the Hindu kush mountain range of central Asia. Due to to the short harsh summers and variable weather cannabis indica strains have to finish fast often reaching maturity after 8 weeks of flowering and pack on huge flowers and buds which are covered in resin. Indica strains are much shorter and stockier than sativa strains generally being around 1 metre in height.

Indica strains have a CBD/THC ratio that can be 4-5 times higher than sativa strains. This means that Indica strains have much higher levels of CBD than sativa strains. Indica strains are often used in the hindu kush region for the production of hashish and hash oils.

Indica strains are well know for their medical benefits due to their narcotic and sedative effect.

Ruderalis

Cannabis Ruderalis is a sub species of cannabis that originates from central Asia and is much shorter than cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Ruderalis has developed in very harsh climates and begins flowering according to life cycle rather than photo period unlike the sativa and indica varieties. This means that  ruderalis plants will begin to flower after 3-4 weeks from germination unlike the sativa and indica sub specie which need to receive less than 12 hours of light per day to begin flowering. Because of these reasons Ruderalis has been described as ‘auto flowering’.

Ruderalis is sometimes high in CBD but has very low levels of THC and has little recreational use. Various breeders have crossed ruderalis with indica to create autoflowerinng strains with higher levels of THC and CBD while retaining the autoflowering trait.

Hemp

A common misconception is the distiction between marijuana, which is bred for high cannabinoid content, and hemp, which is bred for industrial uses like fiber.  However, any of the three subspecies can be bred as a hemp or marijuana plant.

The term hemp is used to name the durable soft fiber from the Cannabis plant stem (stalk). Cannabis sativa cultivars are used for fibers due to their long stems; Sativa varieties may grow more than six metres tall. However, hemp can refer to any industrial or foodstuff product that is not intended for use as a drug. Many countries regulate limits for psychoactive compound (THC) concentrations in products labeled as hemp.

Hemp is valuable in tens of thousands of commercial products, especially as fibre ranging from paper, cordage, construction material and textiles in general, to clothing. Hemp is stronger and longer-lasting than cotton. It also is a useful source of foodstuffs (hemp milk, hemp seed, hemp oil) and biofuels. Hemp has been used by many civilizations, from China to Europe (and later North America) during the last 12,000 years.


4 Most Common Cannabis Testing Systems & Methods

A Comparison of  Chemical Makeup Testing Methods for Cannabis

The 3 major testing methods GC, HPLC and HPTLC are similar – all involve running a sample through treated silica to separate the different cannabinoids from one another, and then measuring the amounts of the different cannabinoids – but the different procedures makes the different technologies best suited for different applications aside from marijuana potency testing.

A 4th technology, the Nano Sniffer or Electronic Nose Nanotechnology can accurately measure chemicals of interest in a sample.  A 5th technology under development may one day replace the mass spectrometer, currently we use a proprietary spectrometer device to generate unique signatures of each sample we test.

We use a Nano Sniffer and/or HPTLC to quantify the chemical makeup of cannabis samples, and a spectrometer for identification via unique signatures.

Gas Chromatography

GC (Gas Chromatography) is the most common method of chemical analysis in use globally. In GC, the sample under study is vaporized and then pushed by a mix of gases through a long, thin, coated tube, not unlike a hollow fiber optic line up to 60 feet long. The different cannabinoids separate from each other as they travel, and are measured at the far end, usually by a detector known as a FID that burns whatever comes out of the tube and looks for the products of combustion. The response from the detector is compared to the response to a “reference sample” that contains a known amount of specific cannabinoids in it.

GC is terrific for measuring small quantities of cannabinoids. It’s main weakness is that, because the sample is vaporized at high temperatures when it enters the machine, it cannot distinguish THC from THC-A in a sample without significant additional processing. The coated tubes are used for hundreds or thousands of tests before replacement, leading to problems from contamination and degradation of the column.

This makes the technology impractical for testing infused products.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography

In HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography), the sample is pushed by liquid solvents through a short tube packed with silica particles. The separated cannabinoids are measured at the far end, usually by monitoring the output with a beam of UV (ultraviolet) light. The main weakness of this method is that the UV detector responds to many substances in addition to cannabinoids, leading to interference, and has significantly different responses to different cannabinoids, requiring repetitive calibration for each separate cannabinoid. As with GC, the columns must be re-used many times, leading to contamination and degradation problems.

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography

In HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography), the sample is “spotted” onto a disposable, silica-coated plate. Liquid solvents are then run across the plate, separating out the cannabinoids. The plates are treated with chemicals and scanned at a particular frequency to reveal the cannabinoids.

HPTLC particularly lends itself to the analysis of complex mixtures, such as plant or food samples, as detection can be limited to specific groups of substances – in this case, cannabinoids – and the use of disposable plates means that no residues accumulate from one test to the next. The main limitation of HPTLC is that it is not as sensitive to minute levels of cannabinoids as GC or HPLC. However, even the most dilute medical marijuana products such as sodas and drinks contain enough cannabinoids to be accurately measured with HPTLC.

Electronic Nose Nanotechnology (Nano Sniffer)

A Nano Sniffer, possibly the most accurate cannabis testing system to date, is an electronic nose that is able to detect molecules in vapor. When a sample is placed into the testing chamber, it is analyzed using a gas-flow-over-the-sensor system that supports the chemical release process, essentially volatilizing the compounds for analysis by formulated polymer based  sensors.

The vapors cause swelling, which induces quantifiable resistance changes at a sensitivity up to 500 parts per billion. Conducting polymer sensors are coated with different films able to detect numerous analytes due to their varying reactions to those sensors. This sensors are electronically connected to an analogue and digital electronics board that reads and displays the resistance change digitally.

 

What Cannabis Testing Systems do we use?

At 4TM Jamaica we use a Nano Sniffer and/or HPTLC to quantify the chemical makeup of cannabis samples, and a spectrometer for identification via unique signatures.



Terpenes in Cannabis

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The Most Common Terpenes Found in Cannabis

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Common Terpenes & Terpenoids