The international conference Cannabis and Science will offer a comprehensive scientific view on cannabis-related issues.
Top experts will take the stage, including Nirit Bernstein from the Volcani Institute, neurophysiology expert and founding member of the patient organization KOPAC, Richard Rokyta, and Tjalling Erkelens, founder and CEO of Bedrocan, a specialist in the cultivation and processing of medical cannabis. Chemist Lumír Hanuš, a legend in cannabis science, will also give a lecture again this year. Hanuš was the one who isolated the first endocannabinoid in the human brain in 1992, laying the foundational knowledge of cannabis and its effects on the human body.
During Dr. Bernstein’s lecture: Progress in cultivation science for enhanced secondary metabolites and yield in cannabis, she will talk about the medical potential of cannabis, which is based on the complex chemical profile, comprising hundreds of secondary metabolites including cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. Studies over the last few years in Prof. Bernstein’s laboratory revealed that cultivation conditions have a profound effect on the production of secondary metabolites in cannabis. The increasing demand for high-grade cannabis products stresses the need for science-based knowledge of cannabis plant science, as understanding the regulation of plant responses to cultivation conditions is key for developing optimal chemical profiles for modern medicine.
In the talk, Prof. Bernstein will discuss her recent results concerning the potential of a range of cultivation conditions to regulate plant development and the profile of active secondary metabolites in ‘drug-type’ cannabis.
Results from a range of experiments in her lab revealed sensitivity of the secondary metabolite profile and plant function in medical cannabis, to a range of cultivation conditions, including mineral nutrition (N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Zn, Mn), light quality and intensity, plant architecture manipulation, temperature, planting density, pest management treatments, imposition of stress conditions before harvest, and more.
The revealed sensitivity of the chemical profile to cultivation conditions stresses the importance of knowledge on the cannabis plant responses to cultivation schemes for the optimization of cultivation for production of high-quality standardized material for the medical market, as well as for the development of plant products containing specific desirable chemical profiles
The event is organized in cooperation with the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC) and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Masaryk University.
The conference is under the patronage of the St. Anne´s University Hospital Director in Brno, Ing. Vlastimil Vajdák.