Many have touted the health and tax revenue benefits cannabis can bestow. But little has been said about how the cannabis industry is leading the next industrialized revolution by building a new sector to manufacture cannabis products for a global marketplace.
A robust and efficient infrastructure is key to building a thriving cannabis manufacturing sector that includes cultivation, processing, manufacturing, lab testing, sales, and distribution. As states build manufacturing supply chains within their borders, the groundwork for a national infrastructure has begun and continues to grow as states legalize.
Thanks to Michael Sassano, CEO of Somai Pharmaceutical, and Nohtal Partansky, CEO of Sorting Robotics, manufacturers in Europe and America, for their insights on the challenges and solutions to make America a global cannabis manufacturing leader.
Seeds And Cultivation
As the industry grows, seed breeders strive to satisfy the evolving consumer palette, and cultivators continue to master the nuances of the growing process, outputs, and processing. Collaboration and communication between breeders and cultivators around the country are essential in moving the industry forward by learning from each other.
New technology is emerging daily to address the specific issues of cannabis cultivation and to make it more cost-efficient, profitable, and scalable. From automating and controlling the growing environment to harvest timing, trim process, and management software.
Extraction And Formulation
Overall, scaling up a cannabis extraction and product formulation company requires careful planning, investment in infrastructure and equipment, and a focus on maintaining product quality and consistency.
Companies can expand to other states by building partnerships and collaborations with other manufacturers to expand their reach and access new markets.
NP: The main bottleneck with extraction is getting a consistent supply of material that has passed category-three compliance testing. Usually, the manufacturing process after that is pretty closed-form and well-understood.
MS: From a global perspective, cannabis consumer products must follow GMP pharmaceutical rules. Extracted cannabis products fall into a few areas:
- Starting materials (API).
- Magisterially prepared cannabis extracts that pharmacies prepare.
- Herbal medicines.
- Acute Internal Medicine products that require clinical trials, like Epidiolex.
- Over-the-counter products.
Best practices are to style your reporting and registrations to the highest regulated market you want to enter.
Technology And Machinery
A new manufacturing sector requires custom solutions. Spending on technology and machinery to automate certain aspects of a production process …