We knew cannabis was kind of a big deal, but until recently, no one knew just how far the industry would go once the plant was legalized. Now the majority of the country and a lot of the world recognize its value.
With the openness of legalized cannabis, researchers have been able to study its properties in greater detail. No industry has been untouched, from healthcare to agriculture and beyond.
The results have been astounding. In fact, it’s quite possible that some of the innovations from cannabis could change the world. The economic and health impacts alone are enough to make a substantial, earth-shaking impact.
Check out these three technological advancements that, combined with cannabis, are set to skyrocket their industries.
Table of Contents
1. Agricultural Lighting Technology
To cultivate cannabis, growers need a lot of specialized lighting. If the crops aren’t kept at specific temperatures, with the exact degree of lighting on them, they can go bad. This takes a lot of time, energy, and money to do correctly.
But not for long.
Right now, we have artificial intelligence devices, like Alexa and Siri, that can control our home electronics. But the cannabis industry has pushed for innovations in lighting. They know changes are necessary to reduce the carbon footprint and make temperatures easier to control.
Now, it’s possible for cannabis growers to connect their lighting systems to the cloud. From anywhere in the world, the cultivators can see their crops. As the plant matures from cannabis seeds to beautiful green blooms, the grower can control the temperature and lighting cycles to suit its evolving grow environment needs.
Not only does this help save time and labor, but it also reduces wasted energy.
2. Edible Cannabis Products
It might not sound world-changing but think about it. The health benefits of cannabis are significant, but not everyone wants to smoke their marijuana or get the THC strain.
Using cannabidiol products in your recipes gives you nutritional and physiological benefits. But you can choose the potency and avoid the side effects.
Of course, everyone knows the go-to weed food is brownies. Recipes like this one by Veriheal swap out unhealthy ingredients for a cannabis alternative.
As people learn how to cook with cannabis products, they’ll stop using butter and vegetable oil. This small change will have major effects, like lower cholesterol and less heart failure.
Edible gummies and other premade foods help people who have trouble sleeping, chronic pain, and other conditions. A simple gummy or chocolate bar may be exactly what someone needs to break their addiction. With cannabis, there can be an end to prescription painkillers and sleep meds.
Yes, edible cannabis products could change the world.
3. Bio-Tech Breeding
Cross-breeding of plants and animals isn’t a new thing. Gregor Mendel taught us how to do this in the 1860s with his pea plants. Mendel noticed that if he was careful, he could predict what traits the offspring of the parent plants would have.
This idea of genetics was already in use with animals. Owners would selectively breed their horses and cattles to come up with healthier stock.
But now, cross-breeding has reached new levels in biotechnology.
Cross-Breeding Cannabis
You already know about GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. Researchers manipulate the food we eat, from plants to animals, to make it easier to mass produce in enough quantities to satisfy everyone.
That GMO idea is moving into the cannabis industry. Cultivators can genetically manipulate their plants to “weed out” those with weaker potencies and undesirable side effects.
By isolating specific areas based on the unmodified plant’s qualities, an entirely new version is made. The new, better offspring will have all the best traits of their parent plant. The products made from these enhanced plants will do everything the regular cannabis did, but with super-strength.
And the results from biotechnologically breeding cannabis can be applied to other fields, too.
Conclusion
Claiming that cannabis can change the world is a big proclamation. However, at the pace the industry is evolving, there’s no telling where we’ll be in five or ten years.
These three innovations alone are already set to impact the world financially and medically.
When the entire world supports cannabis growth and research, the possibilities are endless. It’s quite likelye that a population with legalized marijuana may look quite different than it does today!