Editor's note: Read the Spanish version of this article here.

What is marijuana? Seriously, what is this? Although humans have used this plant for a long time, we know very little about how and why it does it.

Colorado State University is taking the lead in answering this question through the new Panacea Life Sciences Cannabinoid Research Center, a state-of-the-art laboratory located in the University’s Chemistry Building.

"If you look at Colorado, it is famous for cannabis," said Leslie Buttorff, CEO of Panacea Life Sciences. "We have to do it here. We live in Colorado; we went to CSU; we love Fort Collins. It's just the best."

Buttorff graduated from CSU in 1979 and donated US$1.5 million to the School of Natural Sciences at the end of 2019 to fund the creation of the laboratory. Since 2017, her company has been selling CBD products for people and pets and has now taken this step to advance cannabinoid research.

Melissa Reynolds, director of the New Research Center, said: “It’s exciting to be a part of the students here who can make discoveries that will affect the lives of people outside the university.” For me, it’s a bit like the job I’ve always dreamed of."

Oh my goodness, that's so cool. ...It's so cool, I can't help but be excited. "-Maddie Roach, PhD student in chemistry.

Through Panacea Life Sciences and the university, researchers hope that this laboratory can bring many different scientific fields together. It does have several main functions: chemical separation and analysis of various cannabinoids in cannabis.

"The cannabis plant produces more than 120 different natural cannabinoids," said Jamie Cuchiaro, PhD in Chemistry. Students working in the laboratory. "The problem is that THC and CBD—the more abundant ones—occur at levels that we can analyze. The other 118 concentrations are very low."

Many people like THC, but what about its partner, tetrahydrocannabinoid? Does cannabidiol have a different effect from the popular CBD? Yes-we think. The purpose of the laboratory is to figure this out and apply it to the cannabis industry and the entire world.

This will be achieved through a variety of shiny new instruments-chromatographs, gastrographs, mass spectrometers, beakers-all of which are used to finally figure out the roots of these weeds.

"Oh, my goodness, this is so cool," said Maddie Roach, another PhD in chemistry. Students working in the laboratory. "This is a daunting task. We definitely need more people interested in cannabinoid research and more students to participate in it.... It's so cool, I can't help but be excited."

It is speculated that little-known cannabinoids have specific medical uses-for example, THCV is considered an effective appetite suppressant, and cannabidiol is suspected of having a profound effect on controlling seizures.

Nicholas Cavarra, vice president of sales and marketing at Panacea Life Sciences, said that the meeting with Joyce McConnell, president of CSU, showed that both parties want to put CSU on the "map" of cannabis science, which is unlikely to be compared with Gatorade. Just as an assistant coach at the University of Florida famously asked the researchers at the University of Florida to develop a sports drink to help athletes maintain body fluids after physical exertion, the laboratory may one day develop an internationally renowned product, attached above Has the name of CSU.

"This is our challenge," Kavala said. "We have been talking about this. How do we realize Joyce's (McConnell) dream through this laboratory?"

They have already started: Panacea Life Sciences is working with the university’s equestrian center to develop a series of equine CBD products. The ultimate goal is to combine the many majors of CSU-chemistry, veterinary science, biology, medicine, and business-to create something completely new.

"If the next generation cannot make progress in scientific discovery, then we will lag behind the rest of the world," Reynolds said. "We want the best health products; we want the best processes; we want to make the best use for mankind, and we hope the next generation of scientists can achieve this goal."

Hayden Holly can be reached via cannabis@collegian.com or Twitter @hateonhawley.

Hayden Hawley is the Cannabis Director of The Rocky Mountain Collegian. He is a fourth-year journalism major in El Cajon, California. He is underage...

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