Cannabis Extraction: The New Gold Standard in the Sector?

The process of extracting cannabis oil or resin into high-quality distillate has grown to be a field of immense importance within the modern cannabis industry. Extracts of cannabidiol (CBD) have become a sustainable and growing component of the medicinal cannabis space, whilst whole-plant cannabis extracts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have led the adult-use / recreational cannabis market to develop everything from vape oils to shatter to confectionary edibles.

In fact, the extraction stage is entirely vital to the development and application the final product. For example, a CBD extract that’s meant for medical usage will usually be made in a scientific way that naturally enriches the entire CBD content and takes the form of an oil-based product – contaminant-free – that can be easily ingested. This differs in what consumers might want when producing vape oil for the recreational market, where vaporization and inhalation requires an even higher level of extraction purity with a complete absence of any trace residual solvents.

Thus, in a nutshell, every cannabis product that is not smoked (i.e. bud or flower) is extracted in one form or another. And this is the essence behind practically all Cannabis 2.0 products.

Commercially-prepared edibles may be new to Canada’s legal cannabis space, but humans have been eating cannabis since long before you first heard about pot brownies. So every cannabis gummy, infused beverage, or CBD chocolate treat, some company, somewhere has to distill cannabis oil into a purified concentrate. It’s just the methodology that differs from one producer to another.

In the past, options for cannabis extraction were exceedingly limited. For thousands of years, hashish – the substance made from the sticky trichomes on the surface of cannabis plants – was handmade by rubbing dried cannabis plants to form bars of the sticky cannabis resin. Today, this process is often aided using high-pressure, high-tech compression equipment.

The adoption of state-of-the-art industrial machinery and chemical apparatus is now facilitating the cannabis industry’s movement away from the extraction methods of the past to experiment and implement with new, exciting approaches. This has allowed new forms of cannabis extract – such as oral tinctures, vape oils, and wax concentrates – to explode onto the cannabis market.


Who Are the Major Extraction Players?

With the second wave of legalization just over a year ago, edibles and infusibles are now part of the open market for consumers to buy and licenced producers to sell, though there are strict rules around marketing and dosing – including a maximum of 10 milligrams of THC per packaged item.


Cannabis 2.0 is offering consumers a myriad of delightful new treats like artisanal chocolates, fruit gummies, designer cookies, low-calorie mints, and more. At this rate, the product offering of legal cannabis-infused edibles in Canada will start to seriously compete with what’s available in legalized states in the US.

A major player on the US west coast, Halo Canna (NEO: HALO, OTCQX: AGEEF, GERMANY: A9KN, Forum) is an established industry leader with a proven track record in cannabis extraction, utilizing proprietary science-based techniques in developing and manufacturing innovative cannabis oils and concentrates products. The Company is “on the vanguard of modern cannabis extraction technique and cannabinoid isolation – possessing proprietary trade secrets and leading-edge technology that is setting the standard in a new and booming industry.”

Based on extensive extraction and production experience, Pure Extracts Corp. (CSE: PULL , OTC: BGKYF, Forum) is leveraging for growth in the commercial cannabis and psychedelics sector. With a team of qualified experts in the space and cutting-edge CO2 and ethanol extraction technology, the Company is set up for long-term strategic distribution and product innovation.

Pure Extracts plans to enter the commercial sector as a producer of the purest quality specialized extract oils, along with a compelling brand development plan. The company has recently received a Health Canada Standard Processing License and is currently applying for a Dealers License with Health Canada which will enable them to buy, sell, test and produce psychedelics in an EU GMP environment.

Click to view a recent Stockhouse vodcast with Pure Extracts’ CEO Ben Nikolaevsky here.

One of Canada’s most innovative cannabis extractors, Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (OILS) (CSE.OILS, OTC: OILFF, Forum) is developing technology for extracting and distilling THC and CBD oils. The Company’s vision is to set the global standard for the development of novel extraction technology, providing processing solutions for the next generation of cannabis consumers.

OILS owns a portfolio of over 50 issued patents and 50 pending patents for the extraction and distillation of cannabinoids. Company Co-founder and CEO Paul Pedersen met up with Stockhouse in July for an Nextleaf update.

The bottom line is that, over the past 12 months or so, the companies focussed on cannabis extraction processing technology have demonstrated considerably more vertical traction in the capital markets visa vis their traditional cannabis LP counterparts. The extractors maintain higher profit margins than existing producers and can appeal to a much broader base of cannabis consumers who aren't interested in smoking weed.


FULL DISCLOSURE: Halo Canna, Pure Extracts Corp. and Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. are clients of Stockhouse Publishing.