Discover the Vast World of Hemp

Cannabis seed are one of few natural food sources high in omegas. Composed of plant fiber, 26% protein, and 29% oil, It is considered a superfood and has many uses. [12]

Hemp Seed Oil
Not to be confused with Flower Extract, it is derived from the seeds of cannabis plants. Hemp Seed oil can be extracted in many ways. The most common form is via pressure through industrial machines as shown in the video below: [5]
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Containing exceptional amounts of unsaturated fats, Hemp is one of few plant species studied to produce such high levels of Omegas 3, 6 & 9. Since these fatty acids are not produced by the body, it must source these essential fatty acids from dietary sources. [13]

How Hemp Seeds Are Made
Most plants that produce flowers contain both the male and female parts. Cannabis however, has separate plants that specialize in either sex but not both. Male plants will produce flowers with pollen that will concept seed on female buds. Seeds made the natural way will typically produce half & half male and female parts.

Genetic Stability
Usually notated by F1, F2, F3, etc., is measured by the amount of generations a hybrid cross between a male and female of separate breeds “F1” have been conceived. The more generations a genetic cross of plants has been inbred, the greater the genetic stability and the lesser genetic variability will be expressed from seed to seed. The higher the number on the F, the more stable the genetic, but even a F20 strain will still express different phenotypes from seed to seed. The only way to achieve identical and uniform plants is by cloning from a single mother with the most desirable phenotype.

Feminized Seed
Feminized seed are produced through hermaphroditism. In high levels of stress during the late flowering stages, some female flowers may naturally hermaphrodite and produce male pollen to produce seed for next season. Females that are bred with this pollen will produce feminized seed where a very small percentage of those seeds will be male (typically less than 1%). There is little awareness on how feminized seed are made industrially and it is with the use of colloidal silver. This compound is sprayed on female flowers to forcibly stress them into producing male pollen to produce mass amounts of feminized seed.
Hemp Protein
Typically hemp protein powder is made from hemp seeds that have already been pressed for oil. This ground dry powder consists mostly of fiber and protein with remnants of the healthy fats from the leftover oil. Currently hemp protein powder products do not mention whether they are the pressed byproduct of hulled or raw hemp seeds. Judging from the high fiber percentages and grit in the taste, it is likely from raw hemp seeds. Hemp protein products are not very new to the market but as with many money hungry companies, product information and labeling is seldom represented accurately.

Fiber hemp plants have different genetics than those bread to produce seed or flower. Fiber plants are very tall and stalky ranging from 6ft to 12ft. [22]

There are typically two different parts that come from the stalk of hemp. The inner woody core is called hurd and the outer stringy fiber is called bast.

Bast
Different products can be made from both parts of the stalk. The bast is de-gummed and spun into threads for making fabric. Renown artists such as Rembrandt and Van Gogh have also used hemp canvass to paint several masterpieces like Starry Night. Canvas actually even comes from the root word cannabis!

Hurd
The hurd is pulped and can be used to make paper, insulation, mulch, or even building material like hempcrete with very unique properties. There is research being done by independent companies to create hemp based bio-plastic form the cellulose found in them. There is still much research and development to be done for Hemp Fiber materials/products but it looks like a promising sustainable resource for the near future.
Hemp Fiber
Hemp Fibers have been used to make clothing and canvas for artists in the past. It has also been increasingly popular as a use in reinforcing composites as oppose to the use of glass fibers and has shown to exhibit potentially better results than glass fibers. [16]
Hempcrete
The combination of hemp hurds and lime to form a concrete like substance. Hempcrete will absorb CO2 from the environment over time post harvest. For a one foot thick wall, every square meter of wall will potentially trap about 107.5 kg of CO2 thanks to hemps high porosity. This figure does not include carbon emissions to build the wall and is the best figure for the least amount of lime in the blend. [15] As a carbon negative building material, hempcrete has the ability to cause significant environmental impact in a positive way as oppose to concrete or other conventional means.
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Hemp Flower
‍Cannabis flower is where you will find the highest concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes. Here, a pollinated female would grow its seed for the next generation. However, when people like us grow for flower, we only grow female plants and exclude the males. This allows us to grow sinsemilla (Spanish for seedless) buds that produce much higher cannabinoid and terpene content than if it were pollinated. In this way, the plant can focus all of its resources into producing cannabinoids and terpenes instead of seeds.
‍Terpenes
‍Terpenes come from essential oils of plants and are groups of hydrocarbons responsible for the aromatic presence it has.  [19] Terpenes such as βcaryophyllene have a relatively high affinity to our endocannabinoid system receptors making them fully capable of affecting our experience with cannabinoids. [3] Some terpenes are odorless, though this doesn’t mean that they may not have any effect on our body. Each and every strain should have a terpene analysis to understand how that array of terpene concentrations affects your particular biology.
‍Extracts
‍Like with many other plants, their floral parts can be extracted. When it comes to cannabis, there are mainly two compounds that are most commonly extracted, here we will call them “oils”. Those oils are cannabinoids and terpenes. There are many different ways these compounds can be extracted and processed. There are two categories of concentrates: Solvent and Solventless.
Solventless Extracts
These extracts are typically made heterogeneously without dissolving the plant oils of interest. Usually these extracts are made with heat, and pressure. Though air and water would count as solvents, they are not harmful and will not leave any unwanted residual material in the extract. Here are a few different solventless extraction methods:
‍Dry Sift
This type of solventless extraction is usually built in to many grinders and called “kief catchers”. This form of extraction is made from very dry cannabis which is then passed through a screen or a sieve. The smaller trickle heads are collected then consumed or further processed.

‍Bubble Hash
‍Bubble Hash got its name from the way it sizzles and “bubbles” when smoked. This form of extract involves only water and cold temperatures to physically knock off trichomes which are then screened in various ranges of micron bags. The remnants are then air dried or freeze dried for maximum quality to then be smoked or pressed for hash rosin.

‍Rosin
‍Rosin is a form of extract obtained when two hot plates press raw flower typically packed in specific micron sized bags. This kind of extract is absolutely solvent free and reveals the quality of the pressed flower. This kind of extract may contain trace plant material.

Vapor Distillation
‍The Vapor Distillation form of extraction is not often spoken of. Hot air is passed through ground cannabis flower and the vapors are distilled. This process decarboxylates the cannabinoids and would be a very clean product aside from possible ways the vapors would interact with the type of hot gas that’s used. This topic is worth further research and development.

Solvent Extracts
‍There are many types of solvents that can be used to make extracts. Sometimes, when making concentrates like wax or shatter, There can be residual solvents left behind. Because some solvents can be dangerous to consume, legal states have placed a limit on how much residual solvents can be left behind. Here are some popular kinds of solvents used. [18]
Lipid
Lipid extraction involves a carrier oil such as olive oil, butter, or MCT oil. In this process cannabinoids are dissolved into an oil of choice which can then be used to make cooking recipes or consumed as is. Lipid extraction is the safest form of extraction and can happen in almost any kitchen with bulk flower.
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‍Ethanol
‍Ethanol extraction is a common and safe form of extraction using food grade 200 Proof Grain Alcohol. This alcohol concentration sterilizes the extract, reducing risk of a high microbial content. Flower is bathed in alcohol under cold temperatures. This mixture is then filtered through a specific micron filter. The remaining ethanol is evaporated then distilled for reuse. What didn’t evaporate is crude hemp extract which may contain very small concentrations of residual ethanol which gets reduced even greater when dissolved into a carrier oil for tinctures. Crude hemp extract can then be further processed to remove THC via liquid chromatography or can be turned into distillate. We believe whole plant extract is the best way to receive everything the plant has to offer.

CO2
‍As a natural gas, CO2 extractions are relatively safe forms of extraction. These systems are typically very expensive and can only be used with very clean floral material since CO2 doesn’t sterilize the contents like ethanol.

Liquid Petroleum Gasses
‍This includes Butane, Naphtha, Propane and others. This category of solvents are not typically used in herbal extractions but became popular when cannabis was an illicit drug as a cheap solvent alternative and has transitioned over when it became legal. These extraction systems are hazardous and consuming residual solvents from this category is unwanted.