Hillsboro, OR--In a new study published in the journal Psychoactives, some of the most influential minds in the industry today are breaking down the current understanding of what makes a “quality” cannabis experience. And to do so, they’ve done something even more groundbreaking: they’ve asked the consumer.
A news release notes that the study is the result of years of work led by a research team including esteemed breeder and cultivator Jeremy Plumb (Chair, Science Board & Head of Genetics & Cultivation at True Terpenes) and Ethan Russo, MD (neurologist and medical researcher, pioneer of the Entourage Effect, and Founding Member of the True Terpenes Science Board).
The research results and methods are outlined in the paper “The Nose Knows: Aroma, but Not THC Mediates the Subjective Effects of Smoked and Vaporized Cannabis Flower,” published November 8, 2022.
The study is revolutionary in its stated purpose: “to objectively identify features of cannabis that contribute to its appealing subjective effects.” In other words, to apply scientific methods to understand what the consumer enjoys.
This alone is a huge step for the industry. And it has wide-reaching implications.
As the paper describes, one essential challenge to the sustainable growth of the industry (and the health of consumers) is the “potency effect of prohibition,” the phenomenon by which the market value of cannabis is determined primarily by THC potency. This study lays the groundwork for a redefinition of value based on the consumer's enjoyment, as reported by the consumer.
The work is also novel in its approach. Until 2021, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) was the single source for cannabis research on humans. (NIDA cannabis, as noted by the paper, “is not only genetically distinct from commercially available cannabis, but it also bears little chemical resemblance to the extensive variety of cannabis chemotypes sold in state-legal U.S. markets.”)
This study took a real-use approach, gathering consumer response data from 276 “judges” given 8-10 samples from a selection of 278 Oregon-grown organic craft cultivars that were entered into the Cultivation Classic cannabis competitions in 2019 and 2020.
Learn more about it in this release.