Cannabis immediately associate many people with marijuana, also known as weed: the popular soft drug that recreational users in coffee shops buy. But the oldest application of the plant Cannabis sativa Is medicinal, in ancient China. Around 500 BC The Scythen brought the plant to Europe. The flower tops in particular contain substances with an analgesic and soothing effect.
Nowadays use around 130,000 Dutch people Cannabis for medicinal purposes, especially against chronic pain, spasms in multiple sclerosis, nausea in chemotherapy, migraine, epilepsy and sleep disorders. They inhale the active substances via an evaporator or use an extract in the form of tea, oil or ointment. One in twenty users obtains the cannabis on a doctor’s recipe, the rest buys it in the coffee shop or grows it – illegally – itself.
“The Netherlands is at the forefront worldwide when it comes to legalizing and regulating medicinal cannabis use,” says Mexx Holweg (1996), researcher at the Department of Horticulture and Product Fysiology of Wageningen UR. He obtained his PhD on July 11 On a dissertation on the growing conditions of medicinal cannabis. “Medicinal cannabis has been legal since 2003, via a tightly regulated government program. Production must meet strict requirements for cultivation and processing. But the problem is that the composition can vary. Within the plant, but also within and between the different crops in a year.”
Why don’t people just take a pill with those active substances?
“That is possible. You also have pharmaceutical cannabis – in tablet form or as oil – containing the most important active substances. A few of those products are approved by the European and American drug authorities, but there are not many, and not for all disorders. Moreover, there are many more active fabrics in the cannabis plant. Different parts of the plant. You can therefore buy cannabis in all kinds of variants.
What was your research about?
“I have looked at how the growing conditions of the plants translate into the quantities of the active substances, and the proportions between them. Factors such as temperature, light, water and carbon dioxide all have influence on that, and also the timing: when you give your water, lightly administered, harvest, etc. especially on the number of orphan, also the amount of or the of the of the of the of it, also of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of track of tracking, but also of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of Orth. concerns the wavelengths. ”
You want a medicinal product to always have the same composition
And the goal was to optimize the production of those substances?
“Yes, or actually: to standardize. You want a medicinal product to always have the same composition. And another goal was to make cultivation more efficient, especially to save energy. The cultivation of cannabis requires about two to three times as high light levels as that of lettuce and tomato, for example. If you put so much energy into it, then you also want the plant to use it.”
What came from your research?
“In one of the experiments I gave the plants more light. The idea was that the lower flowers would therefore make more active substances. But it turned out that the plants that prefer to put extra energy in more growth of the leaves, stems and all flower masses. The total yield or slightly increases because the plants make more floral.”
Does the wavelength also have an effect on the yield?
“Not in the direct sense. We did see that with the light spectrum you can send the entire architecture of the plants. For example, you can grow a more open crop. That can catch more light, which promotes growth. And you can grow smaller plants. The active substances seem to be better divided between the upper and lower flowers.
Can growers already do something with this?
“Yes, these are results that you can immediately translate into practice. That is also the most important value of my research for me. I go to conferences and talk to growers and suppliers to share my findings. They are already working with them. They now vote their LED lamps exactly on the spectra that came out of our research. They are very happy with it. the practice. “
Are you going to continue with this research now?
“I have considered staying in the academic world, and maybe I will do that later. But now I will first work at a company that produces light fixtures for the cultivation of vegetable and decorative crops- and medicinal cannabis.”
How did you actually end up in this study?
“I started with an HBO education. Applied biology. I liked it: I am practically set up and I would like to roll up my sleeves. I then chose the plant side, because I already knew that I wanted to focus on medicinal cannabis. My mother had been using painkillers for more than twenty years. In the time, it was clear that the combination of opioen with Cannins. But there were hardly any standardization after the legalization of medicinal cannabis, I saw that trend and wanted to contribute to that. ”
Of course we have to ask: do you have cannabis plants in the attic yourself?
“No, I have no room for that.” He laughs warmly. “I live in a tiny apartment. I had one plant on my balcony, but the landlord didn’t like that. I didn’t have that cannabis to use, no. Just because I think it’s a nice plant. It is also a decorative crop, would you like that? I prefer cannabis than a geranium.”