Full-spectrum CBD distillate contains high concentrations of CBD, but also contains other terpenes and cannabinoids. These distillates may contain up to 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (depending on where you are located), which is not enough THC to cause real inebriation or psychoactive effects, but enough to allow for the benefits of the “entourage effect”.

The entourage effect is the popular anecdotal opinion that the sum of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds found in cannabis plants produces an effect that is greater than each of the individual compounds can achieve on its own (learn more about the entourage effect here). The other cannabinoids and terpenes found in full-spectrum CBD distillates have been shown to work in conjunction with one another to offer broader health benefits than fully isolated CBD. This is why some people prefer full-spectrum CBD distillate over CBD isolate.

CBD isolate is the pure form of cannabidiol (CBD) without any other terpenes or cannabinoids. Usually distilled from hemp plants (learn more about the difference between hemp and cannabis), it is so refined that it has no taste or odor or any compounds other than CBD.

CBD isolates can be useful for people who want to explore the proposed health benefits of CBD, without worrying about the psychoactive effects usually associated with cannabis use. While CBD isolate is great for this purpose, research has suggested that isolated CBD is less effective when compared to full-spectrum distillates because CBD may require the presence of other cannabinoids and terpenes for it to be absorbed fully into the body’s endocannabinoid system.

If you want to create CBD isolate, you will need a much more refined distillate product that goes through additional processing than if you were creating a full-spectrum CBD distillate. To isolate the CBD compound and remove all other cannabinoids and terpenes requires further separation and remediation processes after the hemp biomass has been processed into CBD distillate.

It’s easiest to think about this process in a series of steps. The first step is to turn your hemp into CBD distillate. This distillate could likely be used in full-spectrum CBD products, or it could be further refined to remove all other compounds, isolating just the CBD. Both types of products offer differing health benefits, and it is recommended that you consult a professional and be conservative in your dosing when trying these products for the first time.

If you’re a hemp or cannabis cultivator, processor, or product formulator hoping to produce full-spectrum CBD distillate, we walk to talk! Our turnkey mobile labs arrive at your facility within 4-6 months and require a $0 lab CAPEX, and are capable of producing THC-free CBD isolate. Please contact us to learn about becoming an extractX partner.

Cannabis start-ups around the world are looking to meet the growing demand for pharmaceutical grade cannabis distillate, but unless you have an engineering background, you may find yourself wondering what GMP regulations are and how they will impact your business. The purpose of GMP standards is to protect consumers from sub-par quality products by enforcing strict reporting, equipment cleaning, quality management, and documentation and application of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“Essentially, GMP ensures a universal minimum standard of quality to protect consumers (Cannabis Business Executive).” GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practices and outlines a set of requirements throughout the production process for foods, supplements, and pharmaceuticals to ensure those products meet quality control standards.

It’s first important to note that the application of GMP principles in the cannabis industry is fairly new, as governing bodies would not recognize the legitimacy of working with hemp or cannabis until it was decriminalized by the United States and other nations. As cannabis products become more mainstream globally for the treatment of many health conditions, we are seeing more and more involvement from governmental organizations to ensure that cannabis products are meeting the highest standards of quality.

How GMP standards impact the cannabis extraction process (as well as the cultivation and product formulation processes) depends on where and how the finished products will be used. Pharmaceutical grade products are subject to the highest scrutiny and quality standards, even more so than food grade products. For the cultivator, extractor, or product formulator, the question isn’t whether GMP will impact their work, but to what level of GMP standards they must confirm to.

While they are the costliest to abide by, pharmaceutical grade GMP standards create the best consumer products, and satisfy all other classes of GMP standards (food grade, nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, etc.). It is safe to say that if your facility and extraction lab meet pharmaceutical grade GMP standards, your finished product will be accepted by local Authority Having Jurisdictions (AHJs) wherever cannabis products are legal for sale and consumption.

• Design, construction, and location of all equipment must permit easy cleaning, sanitizing, and inspection. Maintenance and usage logs must be kept up to date.
• Personnel must be aware of the principles of GMP that affect them. Operators must be trained to carry out and document procedures, and training records must be properly maintained. Instructions and procedures are written in clear and easy-to-understand language.
• A written sanitation program will ensure the cleanliness of the premises, of any and all equipment used in your operations, and ensure employees are trained in and follow all required sanitation procedures.

• Lab surfaces are selected to permit easy cleaning. Hatches provide access to difficult to clean areas. Maintenance and upgrades are the responsibility of extractX and staff are trained to update usage logs.
• extractX manages the hiring and ongoing training for all lab staff. Staff are trained to document procedures up to GMP pharmaceutical standards. Documented standard operating procedures (SOPs) are provided by extraxtX.
• Staff are trained on sanitation procedures for all surfaces and equipment. Staff are trained to maintain proper usage logs of all cleaning and sanitation activities.

If you’re exploring the pharmaceutical grade cannabis product market or want to elevate your product quality from food grade to pharma, you may be able to leverage an extractX mobile lab. These labs are built to pharmaceutical grade GMP standards off-site and delivered to your facility ready to operate within 4 months of contract for $0 lab CapEx. Please contact us to learn about becoming an extractX partner.

Cannabigerol (CBG), like THC or CBD, is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in cannabis. This cannabinoid is often found in very low concentrations in hemp and cannabis biomass (usually less than 1%). Though CBG is considered a minor cannabinoid, recent research suggests that it may offer remarkable health benefits.

CBGA is the acidic form of CBG, and is considered the precursor to all other cannabinoid lines (which include THC and CBD after the decarboxylation process). As cannabis plants age or are exposed to heat, CBGA breaks down into tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), and very small concentrations of other cannabinoids like CBG.

Decarboxylation is the process that activates compounds found in cannabis like THC and CBD so that they may be absorbed into the human body, and their medicinal or recreational effects may be felt. In its raw form, hemp and cannabis biomass usually contains high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and/or cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).

To simplify things, we can consider THCA as the raw, unprocessed form of THC. It does not cause any inebriating or euphoric effects. Similarly, CBDA is essentially the raw form of CBD. While THCA and CBDA have been shown to provide their own health benefits in recent studies, modern consumers are mainly interested in the inebriating properties and health effects of the THC and CBD cannabinoids.

Decarboxylation either happens gradually over time, or more rapidly under the influence of heat. Until the consumer market was created for cannabis edibles and tinctures, little knowledge of the decarboxylation process was required by the average cannabis consumer. This is because the decarboxylation process occurs naturally when cannabis is smoked or vaporized, instantly converting the THCA and CBDA into THC and CBD, which is then absorbed into the lungs.

The reason decarboxylation is a necessary stage in the cannabis extraction process is that edible cannabis products containing THCA and CBDA won’t cause the desired medical or recreational effects when ingested. These cannabinoids must first be subjected to a decarboxylation process that will allow them to become stable versions of the THC and CBD cannabinoids. Distillates containing these cannabinoids can then be added to edible products and will be able to produce the desired effects when ingested orally by a consumer.

It’s important to note that hemp and marijuana are two different species of the same plant. Oftentimes when people refer to “cannabis,” they actually mean a marijuana strain of the cannabis plant, as opposed to a hemp strain. From a biological classification standpoint, they are the same thing, but from a legal perspective, they are very distinct.

The major distinguishing factor between hemp and marijuana in the eyes of the legal system is the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content found in the plant. THC is only one of many types of cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, but it’s the one that causes inebriation in consumers (click here to learn about the Top 10 Cannabinoids and Their Uses). This is why the differentiation is important – any cannabis with a lower THC content is considered a “harmless plant”, whereas cannabis with a higher THC content is considered a “drug”.

As the demand for THC and CBD distillate products steadily increases on a global scale, the demand for quality hemp and cannabis biomass has reached an all-time high. Expert cultivators have found ways to breed and grow cannabis strains with optimal concentrations of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids, and are partnering with innovators in the extraction and product formulation industries to create some truly remarkable pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and recreational products.

If you’re a hemp or cannabis cultivator, processor, or formulator creating CBD or THC products, and want to penetrate markets faster with no lab CapEx, then a mobile extraction lab may be right for you. If you are processing more than 75,000 lbs of biomass per year and are interested in a turnkey extraction lab for $0 lab CapEx and 4 months to installation, we want to talk to you today! Please contact us to learn about becoming an extractX partner.

Follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter for company updates and more content like this.