The budding marijuana industry is spurring new research around cannabis that will have long-term effects on a variety of fields, from farming to new medicine, as companies look for solid scientific data on the substance.

With the looming legalization of recreational pot next summer, and the expansion of licensed medical marijuana producers, scientists at the University of Guelph say more organizations are turning to researchers for help growing better plants.

The Ontario university has a long horticultural research history and some of its staff and students are already deep into the study of medicinal marijuana.

On Friday, a team of two environmental science professors and a graduate student published a research paper 香蕉视频直播� one they called the first of its kind and the first of many to come 香蕉视频直播� about optimizing the growth of medicinal cannabis indoors.

The study looked at the rate of organic fertilizer in soilless products holding cannabis before it flowered and the optimization of tetrahydrocannabinol 香蕉视频直播� the primary psychoactive part of cannabis 香蕉视频直播� and cannabidiol, which has been touted as a potential treatment for certain forms of epilepsy.

香蕉视频直播淭here is hardly any scientific information on how to produce these plants and now there is so much interest in this area,香蕉视频直播� said Youbin Zheng, who led the study funded by a licensed medical marijuana producer as well the federal government.

Words such as 香蕉视频直播淥G kush香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播済rizzly香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� types of marijuana strains 香蕉视频直播� have now appeared in a scientific journal, this time in HortScience, and there香蕉视频直播檚 more to come.

Zheng and fellow professor Mike Dixon have a series of studies in the pipeline that examine the effects of irrigation, lighting, fertilization and soilless technology on cannabis growth as they try to bring scientific rigour to marijuana research.

Dixon is blunt when reflecting on the current cannabis research landscape.

香蕉视频直播淢uch of the work now is largely based on anecdotal bullshit from people who think they have it all figured out and did all their research in their basements,香蕉视频直播� he said.

The idea now, he notes, is to take the medicinal marijuana world from the backwoods to pharmaceutical-grade production.

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Dixon has been part of pioneering research into the growth of plants in space and is using that knowledge and technology to help grow better medicinal marijuana. He plans to leverage the windfall of research money coming in from cannabis companies for his work.

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 shamelessly taking advantage of the cannabis industry sector香蕉视频直播檚 investment,香蕉视频直播� he said.

香蕉视频直播淭he bottom line is we香蕉视频直播檙e developing technologies that will allow Canadians to exploit production systems in harsh environments.香蕉视频直播�

Marijuana production companies 香蕉视频直播� there are more than 60 approved by Health Canada now 香蕉视频直播� need a 香蕉视频直播渉uge number of trained scientists,香蕉视频直播� Zheng noted.

Then there are the potential medical applications associated with marijuana 香蕉视频直播� there are more than 150 compounds found in cannabis that need to be explored, Dixon said.

Another big area is vertical farming 香蕉视频直播� where crops are grown in stacks in vast warehouses with artificial lighting, either in solution or with soilless products 香蕉视频直播� that can allow cold-climate countries to grow food year round, Dixon said.

The results of research on marijuana 香蕉视频直播� driven by interest from the cannabis industry 香蕉视频直播� could be applied to other areas, he explained.

香蕉视频直播淭he funding isn香蕉视频直播檛 coming from food, which has the lowest possible margin as a commodity, but pharmaceuticals,香蕉视频直播� Dixon said.

香蕉视频直播淏ut we can use this research to develop life-support technology, as in food, which can become an economic engine for a country like Canada that will carry us for the next 300 years.香蕉视频直播�

The dean of the Ontario Agricultural College, at the University of Guelph, said the cannabis industry is also expected to help draw new students to the school香蕉视频直播檚 programs.

香蕉视频直播淥ne of our greatest challenges is recruiting people into our programs because people typically don香蕉视频直播檛 understand the fact that agriculture and food are high-tech, high-growth sectors and demand an awful lot of people for really interesting careers,香蕉视频直播� said Rene Van Acker.

香蕉视频直播淭he cannabis industry is doing us a favour by drawing a lot of attention to the sector and drawing attention to the fact it is a high-skill, high-tech area.香蕉视频直播�

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press