Cannabis extractors are becoming a major industry as concentrates and extracts continue to grow in popularity
We are entering a new era of expanded marijuana acceptance around the U.S., as well as the world. Both at the recreational and medical levels, marijuana is gaining in popularity – and legalization – and this is leading to an entirely new set of industries that many may have never expected to exist. As cannabis extracts gain significant favor, the extraction industry is seeing huge gains, with new products trying to keep up with demand.
Cannabis concentrates and extracts rely on extraction to be produced. Everything from flavorful oils for vaporizers to cannabis edibles can now be found and mass distribution requires massive equipment.
The equipment also ensures that there is consistency among the products, as well as across borders. Large-scale extraction equipment manufacturers are beginning to be eyed by regulators to ensure that there is some semblance of order in extraction and the subsequent production of cannabis alternatives.
One of the companies involved in the large-scale extraction business is Vitalis. As the company’s chairman, Joel Sherlock, points out. “At Vitalis, we made the choice very early to build our systems around not what the government requires now, but what they will likely require later. No matter where you’re operating, requirements are only moving in one direction, and that’s towards more stringency. In California, for example, you used to be able to purchase equipment imported from overseas, get a stamp of approval, and find an engineer to sign off on it. But now, state legislators and fire departments are starting to demand more thorough certifications and formal processes. That means in many places, those imported machines are now expensive paperweights.”
Consistency is the key to any manufacturing process, whether it be on a small or a large scale. The ability to extract necessary components of marijuana is going to continue to increase as the industry evolves and more products, such as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and candies, are introduced. As Sherlock predicts, “Concentrates are poised to be a significant player in medical markets where consistency of product and consistency of dose are taken extremely seriously.”
