Turn down pot? These three trends show cannabis going even more mainstream.

    Two brothers, Zeyead and Ahmed Gharib, are at the forefront of the medical marijuana revolution. The process they developed to preserve the medicinal qualities of cannabis strains in a full-profile pill form is so revolutionary that their company, Harvest Direct Enterprises, was the sole representative of the cannabis industry at TrendHunter’s Future Festival in Seattle and will attend additional Future Festivals in New York City and Toronto later this year.

    1. Cannabis doesn’t have to be harmful.

    Most patients consume medical marijuana through smoking. However smoking itself is harmful to the lungs and still carries a social stigma. Plus dosing can vary from joint to joint. For these reasons, patients are increasingly turning to edibles, marijuana in cookie or brownie form.

    Edibles are typically made by using heat to activate and infuse the plant. The problem with this method is it destroys what makes each strain unique, hundreds of molecules that give each strain its specific medical qualities. Instead of a targeted medicinal solution, the process leaves the patient with a one-size-fits-all solution, a baked good infused with THC/CBD only and it no longer matters whether you started with OG Kush or Sour Diesel.

    So switching from smoking one strain of cannabis to eating the same strain in edible form, they will have different have effects on the experience and condition you are aiming to treat. The effect of the distinct Bubba Kush strain, which is needed in full to properly treat insomnia is not present in the edible form.

    1. It turns out like most plants cannabis is medicine.

    A marijuana pill, with all the medicinal qualities of a specific strain of cannabis, would solve this problem. This is exactly the solution the Gharib brothers developed.

    Harvest Direct’s innovative and patent-pending LACY is the first technology that can preserve the medicinal properties of specific strains of marijuana in pill form. LACY stands for Lossless Activation Chamber Y. As the name suggests, the LACY preserves the unique properties of individual strains. Harvest Direct does what no one else in the cannabis industry can, produce a pill that captures the full profile of the strain, not just the THC or CBD content. This means their method produces an extract that is activated and has retained all of the terpenes, cannabinoids, flavonoids, and all the other compounds in addition to the THC and CBD.

    For the Gharib brothers, this is the future of medical marijuana. Instead of the current one-size-fits-all solution, specific strains in pill form can be prescribed to address individual illnesses and ailments because no doctor would prescribe cupcakes and cookies. Harvest Direct is also licensing its LACY technology to allow others in the business to create their own strain specific products.

    1. It’s not just about the active ingredient, THC. Cannabis has flavors, too.

    While working for an I-502 cannabis testing laboratory, the brothers realized that the activation of cannabinoids and infusion into an organic medium like oil were the only vital steps. Heat was unnecessary and the specific qualities of each strain could be preserved. They then embarked on the development of LACY.

    The company’s goal on the medicinal side is to replace many of the pill bottles in your medicine cabinet with natural substances in pill form that preserve the healing qualities of each strain.

    A pill that replace smoking and edibles for medicinal purposes, while preserving the characteristics of each strain, seems like such a good idea that they even made the movie currently in theaters, “Gringo,” a comedy about such a pill. The Gharib brothers are making this a reality.

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    • Tom La Vecchia

      Founder of New Theory & X Factor Media

      Founder and Publisher of New Theory Magazine and Podcast. Serial Entrepreneur who loves wine, cigars and anything that allows to people to connect and share experiences.

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