Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A glass building labeled "Greenhouse Area 17" sits behind the Life Sciences building on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo.
It's not like the mysterious Area 51 where secret studies may be ongoing, but the more than 50-year-old structure has quickly become the school's major hub for scientific research of a leafy kind.
"We are growing about seven varieties of hemp. And hemp is, of course, below 0.3 percent THC by dry heat. So all the strains we grow are non-THC cannabis," said Brian Vanden Heuvel, a researcher and biology professor at CSU-Pueblo as he entered LS room 17.
He and his students are working to develop expertise in growing and breeding hemp. They are also gaining familiarity with extraction of potentially bioactive and therapeutic compounds from hemp.
The program is one of three major projects taken on by CSU-Pueblo's Institute of Cannabis Research and funded in part by the state and Pueblo County.
The greenhouse project grows hemp to provide the cannabis compound cannabidiol, or CBD, from the plant for other studies in the institute.
"We produce CBD for Dr. Jeff Smith. And he is doing a lot of neuroscience work," Vanden Heuvel said.
"We are self-supplying, if you will, for research here. We are central to a lot of the work here."
Vanden Heuvel's lab also provides hemp raw material for the research that looks at different ways of extracting different compounds.
"We grow it (hemp) to provide raw material for other folks. So if anybody on campus is going to start up a research project and they need physical hemp for fibers, for cellulose, for whatever, then we need to be able to grow it here," Vanden Heuvel said.
Two undergraduate students, Kyle Staples and Eric Gostin, are currently working with Vanden Heuvel, as well as researcher Sang-Hyuck Park, a former U.S. Department of Research-Agricultural Research Service scientist who was recruited by the institute to help with studies.
Vanden Heuvel and Staples are scheduled to give a talk on their bio-remediation study. The study, funded by the state, examines if hemp can reduce selenium in sewage sludge.
"Kyle is an author on this paper. It's not often that undergrads get to be authors on papers, but this ICR has allowed us funding to ramp up research and allow these undergrads to participate in ways that we haven't had in the past," Vanden Heuvel said.
The lab retained seed through the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Vanden Heuvel said zip-lock bags full of seeds were donated by growers, and some were purchased.
"From there, we have grown. My students have become the primary greenhouse managers. They are doing great. They both have a lot of interest in cannabis research," Vanden Heuvel said.
The two students have obtained research credit and were part of a presentation at the institute's international, multidisciplinary cannabis research conference held in April.
Jen Mullen, interim managing director of the institute, said part of the mission of the institute is to include students in the research.
"One of the charges from the state of Colorado when we were funded was that students would be involved in research, and almost every single one of our cannabis researchers that are getting Pueblo County funding or state funding are including undergraduate students in their research," Mullen said.
Mullen said there is only a scientific interest in cannabis at CSU-Pueblo.
"This is a polarizing subject, and so some students are turned off by it, but some are turned on by it. When the university announced the ICR, I had about five to 10 students in my office," Vanden Heuvel said.
"I think for a certain set of students, this is a great opportunity. They get skills. They get to know the plant in a scientific way instead of in the way it is perceived by the public. They get to have colleagues in Fort Collins and Boulder that we routinely work with."
Mullen said the institute will most likely create a whole new generation of scientists.
Mullen said there is a quality control in growing the hemp at the university.
"We know who grows it, when they grow it and how they grow it," Mullen said.
At any given time there are between 30 and 70 plants growing at the greenhouse. There are plans underway to expand the greenhouse by about 1,000 square feet by the end of the year.
"We will have more grow space, and it will be more controlled than it is right now," Vanden Heuvel said.
The greenhouse is currently mixed use, with other projects beside cannabis.
The greenhouse has fourth-generation plants growing in it. Vanden Heuvel said the program also clones a lot of the plants, which is common in the industry.
"The community needs to know that we are growing hemp here, not growing THC marijuana here. That's why we don't have any issues with security. It is not recreational marijuana. We can't have that," Mullen said.
"We test these plants constantly for THC content," Vanden Heuvel said.
"Our permit only allows us to grow hemp, so we really need to know if anything has crept up."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: 'Greenhouse Area 17' grows hemp for CSU-Pueblo cannabis institute | Pueblo Chieftain
Author: Anthony A. Mestas
Contact: Contact Us | Pueblo Chieftain
Photo Credit: John Jaques
Website: Pueblo Chieftain
It's not like the mysterious Area 51 where secret studies may be ongoing, but the more than 50-year-old structure has quickly become the school's major hub for scientific research of a leafy kind.
"We are growing about seven varieties of hemp. And hemp is, of course, below 0.3 percent THC by dry heat. So all the strains we grow are non-THC cannabis," said Brian Vanden Heuvel, a researcher and biology professor at CSU-Pueblo as he entered LS room 17.
He and his students are working to develop expertise in growing and breeding hemp. They are also gaining familiarity with extraction of potentially bioactive and therapeutic compounds from hemp.
The program is one of three major projects taken on by CSU-Pueblo's Institute of Cannabis Research and funded in part by the state and Pueblo County.
The greenhouse project grows hemp to provide the cannabis compound cannabidiol, or CBD, from the plant for other studies in the institute.
"We produce CBD for Dr. Jeff Smith. And he is doing a lot of neuroscience work," Vanden Heuvel said.
"We are self-supplying, if you will, for research here. We are central to a lot of the work here."
Vanden Heuvel's lab also provides hemp raw material for the research that looks at different ways of extracting different compounds.
"We grow it (hemp) to provide raw material for other folks. So if anybody on campus is going to start up a research project and they need physical hemp for fibers, for cellulose, for whatever, then we need to be able to grow it here," Vanden Heuvel said.
Two undergraduate students, Kyle Staples and Eric Gostin, are currently working with Vanden Heuvel, as well as researcher Sang-Hyuck Park, a former U.S. Department of Research-Agricultural Research Service scientist who was recruited by the institute to help with studies.
Vanden Heuvel and Staples are scheduled to give a talk on their bio-remediation study. The study, funded by the state, examines if hemp can reduce selenium in sewage sludge.
"Kyle is an author on this paper. It's not often that undergrads get to be authors on papers, but this ICR has allowed us funding to ramp up research and allow these undergrads to participate in ways that we haven't had in the past," Vanden Heuvel said.
The lab retained seed through the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Vanden Heuvel said zip-lock bags full of seeds were donated by growers, and some were purchased.
"From there, we have grown. My students have become the primary greenhouse managers. They are doing great. They both have a lot of interest in cannabis research," Vanden Heuvel said.
The two students have obtained research credit and were part of a presentation at the institute's international, multidisciplinary cannabis research conference held in April.
Jen Mullen, interim managing director of the institute, said part of the mission of the institute is to include students in the research.
"One of the charges from the state of Colorado when we were funded was that students would be involved in research, and almost every single one of our cannabis researchers that are getting Pueblo County funding or state funding are including undergraduate students in their research," Mullen said.
Mullen said there is only a scientific interest in cannabis at CSU-Pueblo.
"This is a polarizing subject, and so some students are turned off by it, but some are turned on by it. When the university announced the ICR, I had about five to 10 students in my office," Vanden Heuvel said.
"I think for a certain set of students, this is a great opportunity. They get skills. They get to know the plant in a scientific way instead of in the way it is perceived by the public. They get to have colleagues in Fort Collins and Boulder that we routinely work with."
Mullen said the institute will most likely create a whole new generation of scientists.
Mullen said there is a quality control in growing the hemp at the university.
"We know who grows it, when they grow it and how they grow it," Mullen said.
At any given time there are between 30 and 70 plants growing at the greenhouse. There are plans underway to expand the greenhouse by about 1,000 square feet by the end of the year.
"We will have more grow space, and it will be more controlled than it is right now," Vanden Heuvel said.
The greenhouse is currently mixed use, with other projects beside cannabis.
The greenhouse has fourth-generation plants growing in it. Vanden Heuvel said the program also clones a lot of the plants, which is common in the industry.
"The community needs to know that we are growing hemp here, not growing THC marijuana here. That's why we don't have any issues with security. It is not recreational marijuana. We can't have that," Mullen said.
"We test these plants constantly for THC content," Vanden Heuvel said.
"Our permit only allows us to grow hemp, so we really need to know if anything has crept up."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: 'Greenhouse Area 17' grows hemp for CSU-Pueblo cannabis institute | Pueblo Chieftain
Author: Anthony A. Mestas
Contact: Contact Us | Pueblo Chieftain
Photo Credit: John Jaques
Website: Pueblo Chieftain
