extrakTALKS with Dr. Jon

Starting up a new business in any industry can be a daunting task, let alone an increasingly competitive atmosphere like the hemp and CBD industry. If you’re not careful, your plans to create a successful, profitable hemp processing business can crash and burn before you even get a foothold in the market.
So, what should you take into consideration when diving into the hemp extraction industry? Have you considered the long-term profitability of your extraction method? What about the solvent you’ll decide to extract with? Have you looked into the local laws and regulations that might dictate your business practices? The questions can build and become more complicated as you consider everything you’ll need to get started, but luckily for you, extraktLAB is here to help.
In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss the most important factors to creating your hemp startup from start to finish. A number of important factors need to be taken into consideration in nearly every aspect of the hemp extraction business from pre-processing biomass to extraction to distillation and every step in between. Whether or not you've planned out your extraction plans, or you have yet to consider the first steps of your hemp startup, this episode is for you. 

Chromatography has become critically important for the widely popular formulations of CBD products including full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate - all of which are increasingly desired in the growing hemp extract markets. With the ability to selectively manipulate various cannabinoids, terpenes and other materials from the plant matrix, there are a number of methods by which chromatography can be accomplished, and various forms of chromatography have proven themselves to be advantageous for an number of reasons in larger scale extraction.

For a hemp extract to be legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, any particular hemp product must contain less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive cannabinoid. Lawmakers limited the amount of THC that could be present in hemp biomass so as to distinguish it from other cannabis plants that produce high amounts of the psychoactive component.

When the biomass is extracted, however, the amount of THC in the extract is at a higher level than the limit that was established by the Farm Bill. As the oil becomes more refined, the concentration of THC will increase to the point where the oil is no longer fit for commerce.

As a result, many producers have added a separation process into their hemp processing workflow. Hemp extract that has had THC removed from it is known as broad spectrum hemp oil. The production of broad-spectrum hemp oil typically requires the separation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the other cannabinoids in the oil.

In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss the ins and outs of chromatography in the hemp and cannabis industry. This important final step of hemp and cannabis extraction is critical for properly formulating CBD products in terms of legality and consumer preference. Watch and listen as Dr. Jon and Randall explain chromatography in detail and introduce extraktLAB's high performance liquid chromatography system - the pure99.

There is no doubt that CBD has swept the world as one of the hottest cannabinoids from the hemp plant. With the introduction of the 2018 Farm Bill, a whole world of hemp derived products. So long as a product has a THC content below 0.3% any derivative of CBD is technically legal under this jurisdiction. However, another hemp derived cannabinoid is rapidly gaining popularity in the hemp extraction industry: Delta-8-THC.

“But wait,” you might say, “I thought THC was illegal?” The federal laws permitting the creation of CBD products applies to Delta-9-THC, the cannabinoid responsible for creating a high when smoking or ingesting marijuana products. This psychoactive cannabinoid has been a schedule 1 drug for decades, so what makes Delta-8 THC any different? It all lies in its creation. While Delta-9 is abundant in the marijuana plant, Delta-8 appears only in low levels. Because of this, Delta-8 has to be derived from cannabinoids found in hemp, not only to create products, but also to ensure those products are federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. But how is it made? You’re about to find out.

In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson show you how Delta-8 THC  is made including the equipment needed, the cost of operation and the process to derive delta-8 from hemp cannabinoids. They also explain the legal status of delta-8, the difference between Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC and everything else you need to know about this fascinating cannabinoid in the hemp extraction industry.

Bottlenecks are an issue within any business and inside any industry. These issues are never easy to solve, but there are always solutions. Inside the hemp and cannabis industry there are many potential areas in the process that can lead to bottlenecks. Fortunately for this industry, extraktLAB has created a solution to these problems with the igwLAB.
igwLAB is a GMP-compliant, specialized manufacturing execution and quality tracking system (MES) built specifically for the cannabis industry. The igwLAB provides information to help manufacturing decision makers understand how current conditions on the plant floor can be optimized to improve production output. igwLAB software was designed to help extraction facility operations manage material and information flow. The process of extracting hemp biomass into CBD or CBG oils requires extraction equipment, distillation equipment, and formulations operations to finish goods such as vapor pens or CBD pills. The software includes thirteen unique individual modules that guides operators, quality managers, and laboratory personnel through the production process. The software creates master batch records for each step in the process so that maximum traceability can be achieved and easily reported on.
In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss all the potential bottlenecks that hemp and cannabis processors may face and how the igwLAB has the potential to solve these issues. From the first steps of receiving biomass down to distillation and product formulation, bottlenecks are no more with this extraktLAB solution.

Product formulations are a critical part of the CBD extraction process, but sometimes it can get complicated. What is full spectrum distillate? How is it any different from broad spectrum distillate? And what about CBD isolate? All of these formulations have their place in the CBD industry and it is important to know what product is the best for each individual in order to create a profitable extraction business.
In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson go into full detail about these topics including how to formulate, the legality, and the personal risks and benefits of each. Listen up and learn how to implement these formulations to your own extraction business and see just how vital full, broad and isolate formulations are in the CBD market.

In this special episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon sits down with Dr. Benjamin Caplan to discuss a number of health related topics in the hemp and cannabis industry. Dr. Benjamin Caplan of CED Clinic has served as Chief Medical Officer of Canna Care Docs overseeing more than 250,000 patients. He has a tremendous amount of experience helping patients with their illnesses including sleep, anxiety and pain issues with hemp and cannabis products. Dr. Caplan started his studies at Tufts University, and completed his residency at Boston University. He is the founder of CED Foundations and the CED Clinic. He is now a certified doctor of Family Medicine in the medical cannabis industry.

During their conversation, Dr. Jon and Dr. Caplan discussed topics ranging from personalized cannabis product care for patients, bioavailability of each ingestion method, the seemingly controversial topic of pediatric cannabis care, the cannabis health industry during the coronavirus pandemic and much, much more. Listen in for the expert opinion from Dr. Jon and Dr. Caplan in the ever expanding world of the cannabis health industry, the research conducted (and yet to be conducted), and the increasing relevance of cannabinoid therapy amongst a broken medical system in the world of western medicine.

In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss all the ins and outs of the distillation process. Listen as Dr. Jon simplifies this complicated, but crucial step in hemp and cannabis extraction including how distillation works, why it's important to create a quality product, wiped film distillation technology and extraktLAB's advanced wiped film evaporator: the clearSTILL. 

In this episode of extrakTALKS, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss the ongoing bottleneck of solvent removal with rotovaps and extraktLAB's fracTron three-stage falling film evaporator solution. Listen close to the pros and cons of traditional rotary evaporators, current falling film technologies, and why the fracTron is the most cutting edge technology in solvent removal.

Tinctures have become a staple product in the hemp extraction and CBD industry, but do you know how to make your own tincture? Join Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson as they walk through how to make the best tincture possible. You will learn about distillate and isolate formulations, how to use terpenes properly, and how tinctures are made safely and easily with the highest possible quality.

In this episode of extrakTalks, Dr. Jon and Randall Thompson discuss all things hemp extraction from the past, to the present, and looking forward to the bright future of the hemp and cannabis extraction industry. Whether you're a startup in ethanol or supercritical CO2 extraction, or just interested in the world of extraction, you'll want to tune in to this episode to learn more about hemp and cannabis extraction.