Health Canada sanctioned marijuana research could improve medicinal qualities
In January 2016, University of Guelph botanist Mike Dixon, and his research team of three graduate students, received $210,000 from Ontario Centres of Excellence. The money will be used to fund research investigating new irrigation technology for the growth of medicinal cannabis. The system monitors the water status of the plant every 15 minutes through wireless sensors connected at the stem, in the hope of maintaining standardization for the growth of all cannabis plants.
However, this is not the only work that Dixon and his research team are conducting on medicinal cannabis.
“We’re doing the whole environment control package, including the lighting systems, and the organic growing substrate that we’re developing,” said Dixon, in an interview with The Ontarion. “We are looking at the plant in its entirety, its relationship to environment control systems, and how that ultimately defines the productivity in terms of the medicinal compounds of interest.”
The research is in partnership with Napanee-based ABcann Medicinals, and will be carried out at their facilities in Napanee, Ontario. Due to Health Canada’s regulatory restrictions on universities, cannabis cannot be grown on campus without going through a lengthy licensing process. Currently, no one in Guelph has this license—not even Dixon.
The Ontarion spoke to Dixon via email about his research and the state of medicinal cannabis in Canada.
The Ontarion: What do you and your students hope to achieve in your research? In other words, what is the best-case scenario that you and your students can attain?
Mike Dixon: The goal is to develop an environment control “recipe,” including LED lighting spectrum and intensity, growing substrate and irrigation management strategy that achieves a standard medicinal product. Standardization of product quality is the key to raising the status of cannabis to that of a conventional pharmaceutical commodity.
ON: Now, you mentioned earlier that you need a licence from Health Canada to grow medicinal cannabis. Do you see in the foreseeable future the government providing more flexible and lenient measures on the research of medicinal cannabis?
MD: The changing landscape of the legal aspects of producing, researching, and consuming cannabis seems to be changing quickly as the recently-elected government promised. The final shape it will take is yet to be determined and probably has a few political hurdles remaining. Hopefully, the detractors will eventually be convinced of the overwhelmingly positive potential this phyto-pharmaceutical commodity has in our medical system.
ON: Medicinal cannabis is a relatively new treatment in mainstream medicine. The war on drugs has undoubtedly prolonged the beginning of medicinal cannabis research and use. My next question is this: Do you still find that there is reluctance in either the scientific or academic community in the research and development of medicinal cannabis?
MD: My generation has lived through the highs (no pun intended, sort of) and lows of cannabis use in our society. There is still far too little research on the wide range of medicinal applications of this simple plant to convince everyone that it has a place in mainstream medicine. Canada has an excellent opportunity to open those doors wide so that the scientific community can build a credible case and, hopefully, still the arguments against it.
ON: The Liberal government’s platform in the previous election proposed the complete legalization of marijuana. They now hold the majority and the legalization of recreational marijuana is becoming more and more realistic. If marijuana is legalized, do you see the scientific community providing research on recreational cannabis similar to the research being done on medicinal cannabis today?
MD: The depth and intensity of research may not be as rigorous or vigorous as it must be for medicinal applications, but there is no reason for the recreational application to miss out on the advances promised by the research on medicinal cannabis.