Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A Maryland university is dipping its toe into the world of medical marijuana research.
Frostburg State University said it plans to partner on research with Peak Harvest Health, a company started by D.C.-area businessmen that aims to become the first grower of medical marijuana in Maryland.
The university is one of the only institutions in the U.S. to offer a major in ethnobotany, the study of the relationship between people and plants. The school also wants to explore workforce development opportunities with Peak Harvest to the extent it is permitted by federal law, officials said.
Peak Harvest is led by Peter Kirsch, the COO of real estate investment company Palace Investment Co., and Kevin Gibbs, a Maryland real estate expert. They teamed up with Ethan Ruby, an experienced medical marijuana cultivator in Connecticut and Minnesota, to found the company.
Gibbs said Peak Harvest would set aside a dedicated space in a Cumberland, Maryland, facility that Frostburg State researchers, including graduate students, would be able to use to study data regarding the plant. It's part of the company's ambitions to embrace a pharmaceutical approach to medical marijuana.
"We're looking forward to sharing our operational experience and expect significant contributions to be made to the overall understanding of the medicinal value of the plant," Gibbs said.
Peak Harvest has also agreed to the initial funding of a research incubator called the Appalachian Cannabis Research Cooperative, which will provide regional universities the opportunity to experiment with technologies and advancements emerging in cannabis cultivation and processing.
These plans are, of course, contingent on Peak Harvest receiving one of 15 cultivation licenses up for grabs in Maryland. The state is considering applications for potential bidders to be awarded sometime in 2016. Peak Harvest is under contract for a 170,000-square-foot building in Cumberland – close to the Frostburg State campus – to create a cultivation center if it receives a license.
Like other universities around Maryland wary of conducting medical marijuana research as state law changes, Frostburg State officials were careful to note they would strictly comply with all state and federal laws. For instance, no Frostburg State research would be allowed to occur directly on the plant unless federal law changes to permit it, said Joseph Hoffman, the dean of Frostburg State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and administrator of the Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies.
It's also important to be conservative about following federal laws because the university relies on federal funding sources, Hoffman said. University officials have taken about a year to help figure out how the partnership might work with Peak Harvest, including making a site visit to a Connecticut cultivation facility owned by a sister company started by Ruby.
For example, the partnership could enable information sharing, including Frostburg State's botany expertise and Peak Harvest's data regarding its plants, Hoffman said. It could also open up future job opportunities for Frostburg State's ethnobotany, chemistry and biology graduates and grow into a greater connection in research if federal laws change.
"We consider this opening of Peak Harvest Health's facility in Cumberland to be a unique potential opportunity for the university to advance the understanding about medicinal and nutraceutical uses of plants," he said.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: University Gets In On The Medical Marijuana Cultivation Business
Author: Tina Reed
Contact: Contact Page
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Biz Journals
Frostburg State University said it plans to partner on research with Peak Harvest Health, a company started by D.C.-area businessmen that aims to become the first grower of medical marijuana in Maryland.
The university is one of the only institutions in the U.S. to offer a major in ethnobotany, the study of the relationship between people and plants. The school also wants to explore workforce development opportunities with Peak Harvest to the extent it is permitted by federal law, officials said.
Peak Harvest is led by Peter Kirsch, the COO of real estate investment company Palace Investment Co., and Kevin Gibbs, a Maryland real estate expert. They teamed up with Ethan Ruby, an experienced medical marijuana cultivator in Connecticut and Minnesota, to found the company.
Gibbs said Peak Harvest would set aside a dedicated space in a Cumberland, Maryland, facility that Frostburg State researchers, including graduate students, would be able to use to study data regarding the plant. It's part of the company's ambitions to embrace a pharmaceutical approach to medical marijuana.
"We're looking forward to sharing our operational experience and expect significant contributions to be made to the overall understanding of the medicinal value of the plant," Gibbs said.
Peak Harvest has also agreed to the initial funding of a research incubator called the Appalachian Cannabis Research Cooperative, which will provide regional universities the opportunity to experiment with technologies and advancements emerging in cannabis cultivation and processing.
These plans are, of course, contingent on Peak Harvest receiving one of 15 cultivation licenses up for grabs in Maryland. The state is considering applications for potential bidders to be awarded sometime in 2016. Peak Harvest is under contract for a 170,000-square-foot building in Cumberland – close to the Frostburg State campus – to create a cultivation center if it receives a license.
Like other universities around Maryland wary of conducting medical marijuana research as state law changes, Frostburg State officials were careful to note they would strictly comply with all state and federal laws. For instance, no Frostburg State research would be allowed to occur directly on the plant unless federal law changes to permit it, said Joseph Hoffman, the dean of Frostburg State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and administrator of the Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies.
It's also important to be conservative about following federal laws because the university relies on federal funding sources, Hoffman said. University officials have taken about a year to help figure out how the partnership might work with Peak Harvest, including making a site visit to a Connecticut cultivation facility owned by a sister company started by Ruby.
For example, the partnership could enable information sharing, including Frostburg State's botany expertise and Peak Harvest's data regarding its plants, Hoffman said. It could also open up future job opportunities for Frostburg State's ethnobotany, chemistry and biology graduates and grow into a greater connection in research if federal laws change.
"We consider this opening of Peak Harvest Health's facility in Cumberland to be a unique potential opportunity for the university to advance the understanding about medicinal and nutraceutical uses of plants," he said.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: University Gets In On The Medical Marijuana Cultivation Business
Author: Tina Reed
Contact: Contact Page
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Biz Journals
