State of the Cannabis Industry
In the US, the cannabis industry’s growth has been monumental over the last few years. Nine states so far have legalized recreational marijuana. 29 have legalized medical marijuana. The industry is also moving into new areas. Today, concentrates and extracts are leading the way. This rapid growth and diversification continues, despite the shaky position it’s been in, in the last few years. On the one hand, the sector has been growing by leaps and bounds. What’s more, the attitude across America has changed.
The most recent Pew Research Center poll, found for the first time most Americans support legalization. 61% backing the notion. On another front, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed to snuff out state-legalized marijuana. Unfortunately for him, Congress has not appropriated funds to his cause. Moreover, Trump recently undermined Sessions further, saying he’d protect states’ rights when it comes to cannabis. This vow by President Trump has calmed a jittery industry, for now.
MJBizCon NEXT
With concerns alleviated, many are now wondering where things are headed. Movers and shakers caught a glimpse at the latest conference–MJBizCon NEXT, which was held in New Orleans May 9-11. This event informed attendees on the cannabis industry’s direction, covering new markets, opportunities, and threats. There was a lot of excitement, especially for those preparing to meet the demand of two emerging markets–California and Canada.
On the NEXT Live! Speaker stage, keynote speakers covered aspects of investing, cultivation, and branding. One of the most exciting moments was when legendary Kiss front-man Gene Simmons took to the stage and shared his outlook on the cannabis industry’s growth and where it’s headed. 275 exhibitors were on hand to show the latest tech and processes involved in growing, preparing, tracking, and distributing legal cannabis. They also covered improving the customer or patient experience. One of the most exciting exhibitors was AiVacuum.
Concentrates and Extracts
AiVacuum finds itself perfectly positioned to meet the cannabis industry’s needs. Today, smoking is out. It’s not exactly considered the healthiest way to ingest cannabinoids, or cannabis-related chemicals. Because of this, vaping and other methods have grown more popular. In the future, this likely become the main form of consumption. Today, concentrates and extracts are loaded and inhaled through vape pens or dab rigs. They’re also added to edibles, as their active ingredient. The extraction process removes the desired cannabinoid, while casting all others aside. What puts us ahead of the rest is, many of our devices can be used to make pure extracts.
Other companies take out the needed cannabinoids and smash them together to form their product. This process however, may cause a loss of integrity. It might also degrade or even decimate the desired health properties. Our equipment allows for perfect extraction, while still upholding the integrity of the final product. One of the most sought-after pieces of equipment was our rotary evaporator. This device evaporates solvents off of organic material. In this case, it’s used to extract THC, the psychoactive ingredient or CBD, which is used to help treat a variety of different ailments. These include such things as epilepsy, Parkinson’s, anxiety, and more. Cannabis flower is put into the machine and is heated and rotated, along with a solvent. As the material moves through the device under vacuum, elements are further separated out. The result is the viscous fluid used in vape pens. Our model is designed as such to increase efficiency, while eliminating downtime.
Another popular piece of equipment is our vacuum oven. This separates out a certain desired element. It does so by putting a chemical in a vacuum environment and treating it with a solvent, along with gentle heat. With cannabis, this process is used to create THC or CBD crystals, which in turn constitute shatter, butter, crumble, or wax. These concentrates have gotten a lot of attention lately and will continue to do so, industry watchers claim. Our ovens can also produce the much sought after high terpene full spectrum extract (HTFSE). This is where the entire cannabis plant is made into a concentrate, yet still holds its chemical integrity. To make it, butane honey oil (BHO) is pushed through cannabis flowers under pressure and heat, leaving behind pure crystals. The last item that garnered a lot of attention is our short path distillation kit. This is yet another extraction tool that’s perfect for purifying small batches of product. Without a doubt, our devices are exceeding the cannabis industry’s expectations.
To see a recap of this exciting event, click here:
