How to Make Soluble Hemp - "Marijuana Powder?!"
- Cannabis edibles often face issues with dosage or composition of the products
- Not everyone tolerates cannabis products loaded with sweeteners added to mask the cannabis aroma
- Cannabinoids in powder form are a new market trend that could potentially transform the cannabis edible scene
Let's be honest – not everyone who has tried cannabis edibles automatically becomes their dedicated fan. The typical cannabis odor and aftertaste, which can rarely be completely eliminated or masked, are frequent problems. Solving this taste unpleasantness is more complicated than it might seem at first, but now a possible final solution is emerging – medical cannabis in powder form.
"Tasteless, odorless, and with faster onset of effects – water-soluble cannabis powder with variable cannabinoid content is an invention that might forever change the sphere of cannabis edibles."
Why Use Powdered Cannabinoids?
In countries where medical cannabis is available for recreational users, various cannabis edibles are on the market. However, these products are often full of sugar or other flavorings that manufacturers use to mask the strong cannabis taste. This problem is particularly significant for edibles with high THC content, CBD and other cannabinoids.
Moreover, cannabinoids bind to fats and are hydrophobic (they don't like water). When cannabinoid oils are added to foods, certain limitations arise due to their inability to bind to any substance. Such restrictions are obstacles for companies trying to develop healthier and more versatile cannabis edible types.
„With soluble cannabinoids, we can transform almost anything into an edible enriched with medicinal cannabinoids. Yes, even a glass of water."
Soluble cannabinoids are available as a tasteless white powder. This means we can easily add them to anything – water or food.
Cannabis Products of the Future
The Colorado-based company Stillwater Brands focused on medical cannabis in powder form and its technological development as early as 2016. Co-founders Jeremy Goldstein, Missy Bradley, and Justin Singer began their pursuit of quality cannabis in soluble powder after Justin started seeking meaningful cannabis edible forms that his mother, who suffered from diabetes, needed at the time.
„Users will feel the effects of cannabis powder faster, more efficiently, and for a longer period."
The trio of partners soon joined forces with Keith Woelfel, a food researcher with over 20 years of experience. The result was the birth of a cannabis powder enriched with medicinal cannabinoids – Ripple.
Transforming hydrophobic substances like cannabinoids into water-soluble substances is not an easy task. The hydrophobic barrier of cannabis substances was previously the main reason why cannabinoid infusions were not available on the market.
„The entire Ripple powder production process begins with using high-quality CO2 hemp extract."
Once Stillwater has a sufficient supply of pure cannabis extracts, the long and challenging laboratory process begins:
1. Emulsification
The first step in production is using fully activated (decarboxylated) hemp extract. The goal is to create a semi-liquid mix from the extract using surface-active substances and emulsifiers (health-safe), where originally hydrophobic cannabinoids become water-soluble through vigorous mixing.
2. Drying
To achieve the final, powdery product, the original semi-liquid mix must first completely dry. This process, which would otherwise take several days, is simplified using vacuum ovens – the same used in hashish oil production. The final result is an extremely fine, water-soluble cannabis powder.
3. Dosing and Packaging of Powdered Cannabis
As with traditional cannabinoid-enriched edibles, correct dosing of cannabis powder is absolutely essential to achieve a balanced effect. If you're interested in general dosage and information about cannabis edibles, read the articles „Cannabis Dosage – Less is More" or „4 Differences Between Eating and Smoking Cannabis".
How to Use Medical Cannabis Powder?
Medical cannabinoids in soluble form have an immense number of diverse applications. It can be said that soluble cannabis is currently the most versatile cannabinoid-containing product on the market. Moreover, the new ability of cannabinoid powder to bind to water increases their biological availability in the human body. Consequently, their effect – duration, onset speed, and medical effectiveness – naturally increases.
With traditional cannabis edibles, you often have to wait up to an hour and a half for the effects to start. Cannabis oils must go through complex processes in the digestive tract before complete absorption. Fully activated, water-soluble cannabinoids can enter the human system faster (within 20 minutes) and provide effects for a full 4 hours. Achieving faster effect onset is possible due to the powder's solubility, which begins absorbing from the first contact with the mouth and continues through the stomach to the intestines.
„Considering that medical cannabinoids in powder form are tasteless, odorless, and easily biologically available, it's clear that powdered cannabinoids are by far the simplest and most effective method of medical cannabis application."
This also means that users (whether recreational or patients) can add healing substances from cannabis to any foods while achieving precise, balanced dosing.
Additionally, the powder contains no calories, so it will certainly be used by those who need to reduce their nutritional intake. For those seeking new and effective ways of administering medical cannabis, a powder containing healing substances from marijuana is definitely something they'll be interested in.
Source: Bennett, Patrick. "Dissolvable Cannabinoids: A New Frontier in Cannabis Consumables." Leafly, 7 Mar. 2018, www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/dissolvable-cannabinoids-the-future-of-marijuana-edibles.
Author: Patrick Bennett