Ep 24, Part I: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Khan
November 21st 2024Evan Friedmann interviews Yasha Khan, co-founder of MCR Labs, about his journey into the cannabis industry and his efforts to promote transparency and integrity in laboratory practices. Yasha discusses the origins of MCR Labs, which began in Massachusetts to meet the needs of the soon-to-be legal medical cannabis market. He explains the challenges faced, including result manipulation by labs and the impact on public health. Yasha's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) project aimed to gather testing data from 37 states, revealed significant discrepancies in potency and mold results. Despite some states' reluctance to share data, Yasha has made much of this data public, leading to collaborative research and publications on various aspects of cannabis testing.
Ep 23, Part III: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 24th 2024In Part III of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, to examine the complexities of sampling in the cannabis industry, emphasizing the need for proper sampling plans, and methods.
Ep 23, Part II: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 17th 2024In Part II of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, discuss the challenges in cannabis testing, the THC cap, and the need for better regulations.
Ep 23, Part I: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 10th 2024In Part I of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, dig into accreditation, and standards for accreditation, highlighting their importance, while also acknowledging some challenges and pitfalls for labs.
Ep 22, Part III: Decoding Cannabis Terminology with Jini Glaros
August 29th 2024In the final part of this episode, host Evan Friedmann and Jini Glaros, Chief Scientific Officer at Modern Canna Labs, discuss the complexities of cannabis contamination, focusing on pesticides, heavy metals, and microbes, plus the need for better microbial testing, particularly for pathogenic species. Jini also explains the importance of educating physicians about cannabis testing to ensure proper recommendations. Finally, they discuss the readiness of Modern Canna for potential legalization in Florida.
Ep 22, Part II: Decoding Cannabis Terminology with Jini Glaros
August 22nd 2024In Part II of this episode, host Evan Friedmann and Jini Glaros, Chief Scientific Officer at Modern Canna Labs, continue their discussion on Jini’s upcoming presentations for the American Chemical Society Fall meeting and the AOAC International Annual Meeting, highlighting her study comparing five moisture measurement techniques. They also discuss the potential impact of Florida's cannabis legalization on the industry, both medical and recreational.
Ep 22, Part I: Decoding Cannabis Terminology with Jini Glaros
August 15th 2024In Part I of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Jini Glaros, Chief Scientific Officer at Modern Canna Labs, discuss the importance of standardizing cannabis terminology to improve regulations, consumer education, and industry consistency.
Ep 20: Researching Cannabis: Terpenes Versus Volatile Sulfur Compounds
December 8th 2023On this month’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Iain Oswald, a principal research scientist at Abstrax Tech Inc., a cannabis research and development company located in Southern California. Here, Dr. Oswald (aka Dr. Dank) discusses the discovery of a new class of volatile sulfur compounds responsible for the characteristic gassy, skunky aroma produced by cannabis. We also discuss the recent paper published by Iain and his team highlighting their discovery of an additional range of cannabis sulfur compounds that contribute to the tropical notes in cannabis aromas.
Ep 19: Rebuttal to NY Cannabis Testing Article
December 1st 2023On this special edition episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Bill Nichols, the Technical Director at Biotrax Testing Laboratory in New York. Here, Evan and Bill discuss an article that came out earlier this year addressing total yeast and mold counts as well as safety testing in the New York cannabis market. Evan and Bill take a deep dive into the article and explain why they think it needed a rebuttal.
Ep 18: Plants Over Pills—A Veteran’s Journey to Healing and Helping Others
August 29th 2023On this month’s episode, we are joined by Steve Ellmore, veteran, filmmaker, and founder of The Unprescribed. Here, Steve shares how he created the incredible film Unprescribed, his knowledge and research surrounding veterans access to medical cannabis, his mission to help others through his non-profit, and more.
Ep 17: Cannabis Aroma—Research into Why “The Nose Knows”
July 3rd 2023On this month’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Adie Rae, Assistant Scientist at the Legacy Research Institute. Join us as we discuss Adie’s background, her knowledge and research surrounding cannabis aroma, how the industry’s laser focus on THC percentage is decreasing the value of cannabis for patients, and more.
Ep 16: Scientific Data and Research Study on Cannabis Labels
June 2nd 2023On this month’s episode, we are joined by Nick Jikomes, PhD, the Director of Science & Innovation at Leafly. Join us as we discuss Nick’s background, his recent ElSohly award for research related to labeling in cannabis, neuroscience, and endocannabinoids.
Ep 15: Hot Topics in Cannabis Cultivation—Hops Latent Viroid, Genetics, and More
May 9th 2023On this month’s episode, we are joined by Nathan Johnson, PhD, the Co-Founder and CEO of VERNE Bioanalytics. Join us as we discuss Nathan’s background, knowledge about cannabis genetics, some of the challenges related to hops latent viroid, and more.
Ep 12: Plant Genetics and Breeding—What Do We Really Know About Cannabis?
December 9th 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Reggie Gaudino, VP of R&D at Front Range Biosciences. Together, we discuss plant genetics and breeding with Dr. Gaudino to understand some of the challenges, successes, and perhaps where it should be heading in the future.
Ep 11: Cannabis Formulations: A Deep Dive on Processing with Dr. John MacKay
October 28th 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Dr. John MacKay, Co-founder of Synergistic Technology Associates. Together, we focus on all things formulation and processing with Dr. MacKay to learn more about what’s really going on in the cannabis industry and perhaps where it should be heading in the future.
Ep 9: What Is the Board Certification of Cannabis Chemists and How Do You Achieve It?
August 1st 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Russ Phifer, Executive Director of the National Registry of Certified Chemists (NRCC) and Kyle Boyar, owner KB Consultations, cannabis scientist, and Vice Chair for the American Chemical Society's Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision. Together, we discuss the knowledge, background, and skills needed for laboratory directors and other analytical scientists entering the cannabis space as well as the exciting new Board Certification of Cannabis Chemists that they recently developed.
Ep 8: An Insider’s Look at the First Woman-Owned Certified Cannabis Testing Lab on the East Coast
June 30th 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by the core C-suite of True Labs for Cannabis LLC: Sarah Ahrens, Founder and CEO and Carl Christianson, PhD, Chief Science Officer. Together, we discuss the challenges in starting a cannabis testing laboratory, regulations and testing guidelines, synthetic versus naturally-derived cannabinoids, and more.
Ep 7: Special Edition LIVE from CSC West
June 1st 2022On this special bonus episode, Meg L’Heureux speaks with several keynote speakers from Cannabis Science Conference West in Long Beach, California. Join us for brief chats with Ashéninka Mino and Bernadette Torres from Shabeta’s Healing Garden; “Amazon” John Easterling from Happy Tree Microbes; Dr. Lakisha Jenkins-Samuels from Dr. Lakisha; and a quick conference recap with Josh Crossney, founder of the Cannabis Science Conference and Director of Cannabis Events at MJH Life Sciences.
Ep 6: Tetragram: How Patient Data Is Powering Research
May 16th 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Otha Smith III, the CEO and founder of Tetragram. We discuss Otha’s history in the industry as both a patient and an entrepreneur, obstacles he’s overcome, exciting research endeavors, and more.
Ep 5: Cannabis Science Power Combo
April 20th 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Josh Crossney, the former CEO and Founder of the Cannabis Science Conference and current Director of Cannabis Events at MJH Life Sciences. We will be discussing his recent merger with MJH Life Sciences, the upcoming Cannabis Science Conference West, plans for the future, his philanthropic endeavors, and more.
Ep 4: A Deep Dive into Cannabis Research Surveys and Data Collection
March 21st 2022On this month’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Marion McNabb, President of the Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc. Dr. McNabb has been busy conducting interesting research and surveys in the cannabis industry including studies on veterans, COVID-19, and healthcare providers—just to a name a few. Here, she discusses some of the findings from those studies, her on-going research efforts, upcoming projects, and more.
Ep 3: Let’s Talk Hemp: How Current Regulations Restrict Innovation and More
February 11th 2022On this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Adam Jacques, Chief Geneticist of ZED Therapeutics and Zacariah Hildenbrand, Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Director of the Curtis Mathes Corporation. Their article “Hemp Regulations and the Restrictions on Innovation” was the most popular piece on the Cannabis Science and Technology website in 2021. Our conversation is focused on the hemp research—plant genetics, research restrictions, testing—and more that Adam and Zac have been doing.
Ep 2: By the Numbers: Trends, Data, and Predictions for 2022
January 6th 2022On this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Michelle Finzel, President of Maryland Marketing Source, Inc., as well as the founders of Eighth Revolution: Bryan Fields, Managing Director and Kellan Finney, CSO. Our conversation is broken up into two-parts, but the overall theme is the data and trends we saw in 2021 and how that plays into the cannabis market for 2022.
Ep 1: Dr. John Abrams: Understanding the Cannabis Mind
November 19th 2021Dr. John Abrams, Chairman and CSO of the Clinical Endocannabinoid System Consortium (CESC), shares some fascinating information about his background in the cannabis industry, current research projects, a terrific discussion on the cross-section of cannabinoids and virology, and more.