Daniela Vergara, et al.
Published: 14 September 2021
DOI: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.668315/full
Question Investigated: Is government medical research into Cannabis using government-specific varieties even applicable to commercially and medically used varieties of cannabis?
Plants Used: Two NIDA varieties and 73 different commercially available Cannabis (marijuana and hemp) varieties.
Main Take-Aways:
· NIDA Cannabis samples are distantly related to publicly-consumed Cannabis and hemp.
· NIDA varieties have limited cannabinoid diversity when compared to publicly-consumed Cannabis and hemp. This affects chemotype.
· NIDA varieties have an average number of copies of cannabinoid genes when compared to publicly-consumed Cannabis and hemp, which may influence total cannabinoid production.
· The number of copies of cannabinoid genes need further study to determine how it affects productions, because a lot of variation was observed in this quality.
· A direct, quite impactful quote: “Given that NIDA’s samples do not represent the genomic or phenotypic variation found in Cannabis provided by the legal market, consumer experiences may be different from that which is published in scientific literature…medical research is hindered by using varieties that are not representative of what people are consuming..”
· And finally, “Cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit substance in both in the United States and worldwide (Gloss, 2014), and therefore it is a matter of public health and safety to provide honest and accurate information.”
In the Garden 