Calgary, Alberta --
July 10, 2019 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire -- (Source via:
CFN Media Group)
Regulations surrounding the legal sale of cannabis can be
byzantine, to say the least. In North America alone, 33 U.S. states
have their own rules about legal use of marijuana, albeit medicinal
or recreational, while the plant remains illegal at the federal
level. That is unless it contains less than 0.3%
tetrahydrocannabinol (THCa), in which case it qualifies as hemp and
is open to interstate commerce as of the start of 2019. Canada has
made marijuana legal across the country, but only in flower and oil
form, while it still works to hammer out legislation allowing
edibles and other cannabis-based products.
Regardless of legislation,
there is a common thread across cannabis and hemp in both
countries: testing. Testing is at the root of the industry as
guidelines lay out strict rules for potency and safety to protect
the consumer. The problem is that the testing industry is highly
fragmented with varying protocols delivering inconsistent results,
an issue that can frustrate the complete supply chain from
cultivator to consumer, as well as those providing oversight along
the way.
FluroTech
Ltd. (TSX-V: TEST) (OTCQB: FLURF) is pioneering new
technology addressing this nagging issue by bringing consistent
testing in-house, a practice that can save resources and improve
the bottom line. Using fluorescence spectroscopy and accompanying
software, FluroTech’s CompleTest™ is a
portable, accurate and cost effective method for cannabis and hemp
testing that can shave result times down to hours rather than days
or weeks. Furthermore, the technology is user friendly and doesn’t
require highly trained scientists to perform the tests and analyze
the results.
THC and CBD
First
FluroTech co-founder and
CEO Danny Dalla-Longa recently told CFN Media’s Laura Albers in an
interview at MJ Micro Conference that the company has begun
marketing its award-winning CompleTest™
for THC and cannabidiol (CBDa) with plans to “shortly” be expanding
into testing of hemp.
THC and CBD are the two
best-known components, called cannabinoids, of cannabis. THC is
responsible for the “high” synonymous with ingesting marijuana,
while CBD has been widely hailed for a bevy of therapeutic benefits
ranging from reducing anxiety to treating difficult diseases like
epilepsy and cancer.
Despite these two
cannabinoids being at the core of the market, getting repeatable,
reliable and accurate test results has been an industry challenge,
even with today’s machines costing up to
$500,000.
Consider a study conducted
by Washington Cannabis Farmers Council analyzing THC content in a
cannabis strain across eight different labs.
The highest reported level
(26.90%) was more than twice that of the lowest level
(13.37%).
Obviously, the implications
regarding potency are clear enough from a consumer
standpoint. But, what about the cultivator? In Canada, many
licensed producers model a 1% increase in potency leading to an
additional 80 cents per gram in selling price. Using an average of,
say, $10 per gram, that’s an 8%
increase in margin.
On that note, a recent
study showed that growers using CompleTest™ were able to identify
lighting solutions that increased potency by 50 percent. This was attainable
owing to the ease of use to perform repeated tests and monitor the
plant’s qualities.
The savings and profits
resonate with respect to ROI for the $18,000
investment for the CompleTest™ system unit (plus any costs
for additional scopes and test kits). This goes without putting a
figure on the price of confidence in product and potential expenses
related to any undiscovered contaminants or inaccurate product
labeling that can earn the ire of regulators and
customers.
In a Class By
Itself
Dalla-Longa is another example of a successful
businessman (a partner at a large accounting firm in fact) that
ventured into the cannabis space because of the opportunity. He
teamed up with FluroTech CTO Dr. Elmar Prenner,
a specialist in fluorescence spectroscopy and the brains behind the
CompleTest™ technology, to address unmet needs in testing, which he
identifies as accuracy, cost, timeliness and
format.
“No one is really a
competitor to us now because we’re going to be offering a service
to cannabis and hemp companies where they can do their own in-house
testing such that as the plant is growing they will be able to test
it, determine which inputs will give them the highest value for
their crops,” said Dalla-Longa in the interview. He continued,
“Then when they have to go to the certified labs, or the outside
verification, they will know what they’ve got when they get
there.”
Biomarker, People
Testing and More
Without accounting for
sales that are getting underway, Dalla-Longa says that the company
has enough cash on hand to operate for about one year. However,
part of the reason for presenting at the MJ Micro show was to speak
with potential joint venture partners and align to raise capital
for upcoming developments that will continue to differentiate the
company from any potential future
competition.
On the immediate agenda for
FluroTech is finishing development of the cannabis testing
technology for detecting pesticides, chemicals, mold and heavy
metals, which is almost complete. The company also is working on
cutting-edge biomarker technology where nanoparticles will be
absorbed through a plant’s root system and carried throughout the
entire cannabis or hemp plant, effectively implanting a specific
biological marker that will uniquely identify that plant throughout
its entire life cycle.
Finally, FluroTech is
working on what it simply calls “people testing.” This is
addressing different market segments for testing to identify
consumer usage in environments such as roadside stops and work
settings.
A Big
Niche
Some may consider testing a
niche as part of the massive cannabis market. Fair enough, but it
is a very big niche already projected at $2.75 billion that is part
and parcel to the business. FluroTech Ltd. (TSX-V:
TEST) (OTCQB: FLURF) is in the catbird’s seat
on this front with a first mover advantage and technology that is
faster, more reliable/repeatable, accurate, and cost effective than
traditional laboratory testing.
Disclaimer
The above article is
sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com
and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow
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compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/
Source via: CFN Media
Group