Researchers at Langara College’s Applied Research Centre in Vancouver recently began collaborating with BC-based cannabis producer Pure Sunfarms to discover what makes the best pre-roll.
The work, which launched in January, is one of several announced projects at the college’s Applied Science for the Canadian Cannabis Industry (ASCCI, which are supported by $4.7 million in grants from federal, provincial, and private funders, including companies operating in the cannabis space like Pure Sunfarms, Avicanna Inc., and Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis researcher Markus Roggen tells the Langara Voice that this cutting-edge research is relatively unique since few companies test the consumption process of their products.
“If you smoke the same joint five times, you’ll see that they behave slightly differently, burn slightly differently,” Roggen said. “You don’t see that with a cigarette.”
Roggen and his fellow researchers are using a “mechanical lung” they call KARL to mimic the act of smoking in a controlled setting. One of the goals, he explains, is to balance the effects of THC and terpenes throughout the whole joint.
“[We can see] how much THC, how much CBD, how many terpenes you inhale, per puff and for the whole joint,” Roggen said.
Cannabis pre-rolls have been gaining market share in recent years, although quality continues to be a challenge for industry and consumers alike. The number of units of cannabis pre-rolls delivered to stores in Ontario surpassed dried flower in early 2023, with that trend increasing in the first half of 2024, according to the most current data available.
Another cannabis lab has undertaken similar research into vape pens to better understand the realities of the impact of their use on the hardware.
Langara College’s cannabis research will continue into 2026. The college was awarded one of the largest grants received by a post-secondary institution in British Columbia for cannabis research in 2021. The ASCCI research project received a grant of $2 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and $1.3 million from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
“The research addresses questions of importance to industry such as: what is the genetic basis of cannabis varietal designation? What is the relationship between varietal and compound production? How can new varietals be developed in a targeted way?” said Kelly Sveinson, Chair, Applied Research Centre, Langara College at the time. “Connecting industry, College researchers, students, and other institutions, this program will leverage federal funds to build global competitiveness in the sector and develop skilled people in the field.”
Featured image via the LangaraVoice.ca
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