Let’s take a look at the overall process from seed to sale.
Cannabis from seed to sale
- You are preparing your field; planting either seeds or clones.
- Through the growing period (which typically goes from May until October) you are maintaining your crop like you would any other; free from weeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
- Once the plant is mature enough to be harvested, it is taken down manually with a saw or even a bolt cutter. Larger fields may require a combine with a retrofitted head that is able to gently harvest the flower off of the cannabis plant.
- The flower is dried out, trimmed and sold. Or it can go to an extractor.
There are several methods that exist for extracting cannabinoids. Choosing the right extraction method depends on the accessibility you have to equipment, and also the desired end result.
- Cryogenic ethanol – Ethanol extraction at extremely low temperatures allows for a pure extract to be created. Not as many secondary processes are required after using this method.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) – Utilizes liquefied CO2 gas that is then turned back into a gas and evaporated.
- Hydrocarbon / Butane extraction – Involves a class 1 division 1 explosion proof laboratory environment.
- Solventless – Using pressure to literally squeeze the cannabinoids out of the plant.
- At this stage you have your raw cannabinoid product. It is possible to turn this raw product into many different things. Such as sublinguals / oil drops, gel caps, gummies or even topicals.
- It is possible to take an additional step to remediate the THC out of the raw cannabinoid product to make it compliant in different states.
At Twin Cities Cannabis we have a comprehensive quality assurance program to ensure that nothing gets missed. Including third party testing through an outside lab to verify the cannabinoid makeup of each product.
Read more about our quality assurance program here.
