Markus Roggen

Smoking remains the most common method of cannabis consumption, particularly for patients seeking rapid relief. Despite this, little is known about what defines a high-quality smokable product. This study investigated how varying water activity levels (0.45 aW, 0.65 aW, 0.85 aW) affect cannabis flower’s chemistry and perceived smoke quality. Chemical analyses showed that 0.65 aW yielded the highest terpene content and comparable cannabinoid delivery to 0.45 aW, while 0.85 aW significantly reduced cannabinoid levels. Sensory panelists noted minimal differences between 0.45 and 0.65 aW samples, though harshness and ash color varied. Higher water activity increased moisture and product weight—suggesting economic benefits for producers. These findings offer insights into optimizing water activity to balance chemical, sensory, and financial factors in cannabis production.

In order to provide cannabis pre-roll manufacturers with tools to better control the delivery of cannabinoids from smoking pre-rolls, the authors examine the effect of particle size on cannabinoid delivery.

In this article, Markus Roggen demonstrates a new method for recapturing terpenes lost during the cannabis extraction process.