The consumer cannabis/cannabinoid markets are rapidly expanding. Over the last 5-10 years dramatic changes in policies have opened up markets globally and the United States is now the largest cannabis market in the world with annual sales &gt;$14B. Changing policies have allowed increased studies into cannabinoids which has led to the identification of new applications for more cannabinoids. Although we are understanding the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids more, the commercial production of cannabinoids has remained unchanged for millennia, with all consumer cannabinoids being produced via agricultural production. This limits access to only cannabinoids that are produced in high abundance by the cannabis plant, mainly THC and CBD. Yet, there are over 20 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant and most are produced at &lt;0.5% dry weight. The future of the cannabis industry will look very different from today as new production technologies improve supply chains and give economical access to any cannabinoid. Synthetic chemistry is being utilized to convert low cost highly abundant plant derived cannabinoids (such as CBD and delta9-THC) into rare cannabinoids with different physiological properties such as CBN or delta8-THC which are sold into the consumer market. In 2020, Lygos became the first company to produce and initiate commercial sales of yeast derived cannabinoids which are currently used in cosmetic products. Biosynthetic production has been moving quickly with the expansion of the Lygos platform into other rare cannabinoids such as CBC, CBDV, CBD and delta9-THCV. We are now entering the new era of Cannabis 3.0 where multiple different production technologies can be used to produce unique products that have never been accessible until today. In this presentation Dr. Poulos will describe the current state of cannabinoid production technologies with a particular focus on the emerging platforms and consumer markets. Production technologies will be compared and contrasted, and unique market opportunities will be identified and discussed.

There goes the farm: Biosynthesis and chemical manufacturing in the consumer cannabis markets

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.