August 2018

the crystals on the cannabis flower that generate terpenes. Because terpenes help the cannabis plant to defend against pests and UV rays, some outdoor-grown plants have terpenes that are difficult to find in indoor plants. However, some indoor grows have lights that replicate outdoor conditions and lead to better, more diverse terpene content. Spall prefers to work with freshly cut, frozen flower. He avoids cured cannabis because during the curing process the terpenes will break down and evaporate. The ideal time to extract flower for terpenes, Spall said, is when the once- clear trichomes have begun to turn cloudy and slightly amber. “You can never get it fully perfect, because it happens in a transition,” he added. “You get 5% or 20% amber.The timing is very difficult.” To improve his processes, Spall will communicate with his cultivators to give them feedback about their end product. “Talking to the grower and the breeder to get a special plant that has a higher terpene content is a good start- ing point,” he said. But Spall believes there aren’t par- ticular strains that offer better terpenes. “I see value in all strains and the com- position of terpenes it has,” Spall said. Terp-Infused Brews Much of what Spall extracts ends up in beer brewed by Two Roots Brewing in San Diego. Kevin Barnes, the master brewer at Two Roots, uses cannabis terpenes to complement the terpenes that exist in hops. By introducing the cannabis terpenes, he can create flavor com- plexities not available with hops alone. (It should be noted, however, that the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has blown the whistle on brews containing cannabis terpe- nes, including those produced by two Florida brewers.) Both hops and some strains of canna- bis contain the terpene myrcene, which gives off herbal and citrus notes com- monly associated with hoppy beers such as India Pale Ales. “The main point of doing this is showing the synergism of hops and cannabis and how closely related they are,” Barnes said. When Barnes gets the terpenes from Spall, they’re similar to essential oils. Barnes adds the terpenes at the end of the brewing process to give the beer a bright, fresh hop character. He needs “very little terpenes” to make it work. Two Roots Brewing is making two main products: • Beer with the alcohol removed, then THC or CBD and terpenes added. • Alcoholic beer with botanically derived terpenes added. Most of the beer will at first be available only at dispensaries. Barnes also hopes to have CBD products that can be sold in natural food stores. Plus, the brewery plans to sell its full-alcohol beer infused with botanically derived terpenes in liquor stores and bars. “It’s a pretty cool business model,” he said. Barnes said adding terpenes doesn’t increase cost of production too much, because the brewery can use smaller quantities of hops. “It sort of balances,” he noted. ◆ Therefore, the less CBD a strain has, the more likely it is to provoke paranoia. The primary effect of myrcene, another common terpene found in cannabis, is sedation. When myrcene is combined with THC, the result is a relaxed, sleepy high. Some strains that have good amounts of myrcene include skunks, Hima- layans and White Widow. Still other terpenes can activate other chemicals. Phytecs, a Los Angeles company researching the endocannabinoid system and howdifferent cannabinoids and terpenes can be combined for therapeutic benefits, is researching terpenes that potentially can: • Quicken the onset of psychoactive effects. • Prolong the duration of the therapeutic effects of cannabis. • Strengthen the effects of CBD or THC, so that less is needed. “If we want to enhance the efficiency of any particular compound’s interaction with the endocannabinoid system, one way is through co-administration with other com- pounds,” Phytecs President Gary Hiller said. Future terpene research will focus on figuring out the effects of different combinations and ratios of cannabinoids and terpenes. “The future is systematically manipulating proportions of common components and studying the combinations,” said Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos, a neurology professor at the University of South Florida and the medical director for 3 Boys Farm, a licensedmedical marijuana company in Florida. Other areas of research include exploring whether the entourage effect is altered, depending on how cannabis is consumed. “It can hopefully lead to better therapeutics,” Sanchez-Ramos said. – Omar Sacirbey TAPPING INTO TERPENES August 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 67