RE:RE:RE:RE:Nice MJ Bus Daily piece There are multiple routes to get to the same destination. Ethanol extraction is not new, but the manner in which Nextleaf put their machine together with their added solution wash and a few other bells and whistles makes their process novel and patent-worth (from my understanding).
Majority of early cannabis tech was done via CO2 in small batches, the difference in patents is the process at scale. You cant patent an end product that already existed [cc: Canopy trying to patent the THC molecule among others] so the land grab is in new processing methods and formulations. Rapid Emulsions is not the only emulsion tech available, it's their specific patented formulation.
Deeper Green, TGOD, Medipharms, and Nextleaf (to name a few) all have varying proprietary rapid dissolving powdered formulations.