Industry Approach
As a management team, GCI is on the cutting-edge of cannabis industry trends. Using our collective experience in research and technology, we are ready to lead and advise affiliates through effective and impactive processes.
What’s the Fastest Growing Industry Trend in Cannabis? Extraction!
Cannabis concentrates are currently the fastest growing sector of the industry, making up about 50 percent of sales in the medical and recreational markets. These concentrates are potent forms of cannabis oils, waxes, and other compounds that are extracted using volatile and non-volatile solvents such as N-butane, N-propane, ethanol, CO2, and nitrogen. Cannabis concentrates are produced using methods of extraction, the same that have been used for decades in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries.
Benefits of Cannabis Extraction
Over the past 10 years, the popularity of concentrates has grown significantly amongst consumers. Why? Because concentrates give people more options and ways of consuming cannabis. Concentrates provide a diverse range of products that speak to the diverse needs of diverse consumers. One very popular method currently is vaporizing. Vaporizing is viewed as a healthier alternative to smoking actual dry cannabis and is therefore more appealing to consumers. But vaporizing is just one way concentrates can be consumed.
Cannabis oils and resins produced through extraction are also used in edible, sublingual, and topical products including pills, creams, salves, and lotions. The possibilities when it comes to extraction are constantly evolving, with processes evolving as well to bring out the best properties of the cannabis plant. GCI’s industry experts are keen to advise in this area, for example consulting on how best to stimulate terpenes through volatile extraction.
Volatile Extraction as a Superior Method
In particular, GCI supports volatile extraction as the most desirable approach. In volatile extraction, light hydrocarbon solvents extract a wider terpene profile of the raw cannabis flower. Just what are terpenes? Terpenes are fragrant oils that give cannabis its aromatic diversity. These oils are secreted in the cannabis flower’s sticky resin glands, the same ones that produce THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids. Terpenes are by no means unique to cannabis; they can be found in many other herbs, fruits, and plants as well.
Like cannabinoids, terpenes bind to receptors in the brain and give rise to various effects, making them appealing to various consumer needs. Overall, more terpenes enhance product potential and consumer appeal. For these reasons, this current aspect of the market is booming. With respect to this, GCI has been closely following the market, and is already well poised to support large-scale extraction production.
GCI Holds Valuable California Extraction Permits
In spite of the clear benefit of volatile extraction, there are very few cities and counties in California allowing for volatile extractions in their local cannabis jurisdiction at this time. As of May 2017, there were only three cities in California allowing this form of extraction. GCI is one of the few groups holding two volatile extraction licenses currently. Due to these rare and valuable licenses, The GCI Affiliated Group will be one of the first in the state to be manage the large-scale production of these desirable concentrates once regulations are implemented at a state level. They have also been approved to construct a 64,000 square foot facility in California to accommodate their overseeing of extraction, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and testing.
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