Horticultural and production research of medical plants for EXKA Inc.

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The legal status of cannabis is shifting, causing a rapidly expanding market in North America and Europe. Due to its previous listing as an illicit drug and current status as a controlled substance, knowledge gaps exist in cannabis production and processing. While the number of clinical applications for cannabis is growing, validated methods and internationally recognized guidelines for cannabis production are extremely limited. This lack of standards has resulted in conflicting methods that have led to varied product yield, potency and quality. In Canada, the full legalization of cannabis allows industry and researchers to work together toward standardizing cannabis production, postharvest handling and processing. McGill University is working with EXKA Inc to develop a research program to address some of these challenges that will contribute to the development of optimized methods that will improve medicinal plants (basil, hops and cannabis) during growth through nutrient and fertilizer management, post-harvest processing (drying, grinding, and storage) and extraction of medicinally important cannabis compounds. Poorly understood factors that impact the accumulation of these compounds in plants will be explored. For instance, identifying growth conditions that could influence cannabis compound biosynthesis will allow for improved production that maximizes compound accumulation. Importantly, major objectives include the evaluation of common plant processing, extraction and purification techniques for medicinal-grade cannabis products. Standardized tests will be used to determine if compound yield and/or product quality are affected at any step in the production process.