The Top Cannabis Trends in 2022

Top Cannabis Trends 2022

The cannabis and hemp markets are expanding and innovating at breakneck speeds. There are thousands of products for consumers to choose from ranging from edible products to smoke products. 

The market is constantly evolving and creating new methods of extraction and production to expand the variety of products available to consumers. So, what is up and coming today in the cannabis industry? Here we take a look at the top trends in the cannabis market in 2022.

Cannabis oil

With a long list of uses, cannabis oil has remained extremely popular and is still up and coming. The oil can contain either a majority of THC or CBD. 

THC oil is used for the “high” effect and is often processed beyond the oil form to be used in vapes and edibles. 

CBD oil, on the other hand, is great for the treatment of body pain, anxiety and nausea relief and can be used pharmaceutically to help manage some conditions like epilepsy and cancer. Since it contains very little THC, users do not experience the effect of being “high” and the products are legalized for use in more places. 

The extracted oil is also the first step towards other processes like distillation to be used in edibles or beverages. Cannabis oil has a variety of different ingestion methods and usages, which has made its production grow with the legalization of cannabis in Canada and across some of the United States.

CBD and THC oil is made through the extraction process. The cannabinoids and terpenes are extracted from the plant biomass using supercritical CO2 or solvents such as ethanol or butane. The resulting mixture when using CO2 extraction can then be winterized to remove any fats, waxes or lipids that were also pulled from the biomass. In the case of ethanol or other hydrocarbon extraction, the solvent is removed and then the product is ready for consumption. 

From Maratek, the EV-M units are designed for cold ethanol extraction and complete the extraction and filtering processes for ethanol extracted biomass. Maratek also provides a line of winterization equipment which allows for automation and closed-loop operation of the winterization process. 

Edibles

Edibles can come in many forms from cookies to chocolates to gummies and can be composed of THC or CBD in various doses. Edibles can be made at home using a decarboxylated oil or flower but can also be purchased pre-made from dispensaries. Edibles are attractive to consumers who don’t want to smoke cannabis but still want to enjoy its benefits. 

Edibles produced on a large scale are often packaged as chocolate or a gummy. Edibles can be made to be high potency since their medicinal ingredient is distillate which can be composed of 70-95% THC or CBD. In Canada, the government has regulations over the potency of edible allowed to be purchased which is usually capped at 10mg of active THC/CBD per package.

Distillate is one of the purest products containing only the THC or CBD molecules and is used most in edibles and vapes. Removed in the extraction and winterization process are most fats, waxes and lipids that form the plant profile of the cannabis or hemp plant. After this process, however, remains a wide variety of terpenes, cannabinoids and a small percentage of fats, waxes and lipids that slipped through the filtration process. Distillation aims at removing these factors which impact purity, potency, and volatility and isolating the desired cannabinoids.

The THC and CBD molecules have high boiling points which means the molecules stay intact when heated at a high temperature. For some of the other, undesirable compounds, a much lower boiling point is required to convert them to a gas meaning that a distillate machine is designed to collect and remove the vapors produced and leave you with a final product that consists of a high concentration THC or CBD. Maratek offers short-path distillation units as well as wiped film distillation units to produce distillate.

Cannabis beverages

Can you imagine ordering a THC infused beverage at a bar? That reality might be closer than we expect with the creation of cannabis beverages and partnerships between large growers and existing breweries. The terpenes found in cannabis can pair perfectly with a cup of joe in the morning or a cold one after a day of work. 

Incorporating cannabis into the beer brewing process has opened new markets and new flavours in Colorado and could be seen in Canada and other states as well. Currently CBD and THC beverages are also available at dispensaries. Many of the same benefits exhibited by CBD or THC edibles can also be found in beverages. CBD beverages for example can be marketed as a health drink aimed at decreasing anxiety and inflammation. 

So, it turns out there are many more cannabis end products than just smoking a joint or hitting a vape. You can drink and snack on cannabis products too! 

Many companies are investing in new processes and expanding their product line to reach a broad and ever-growing market of cannabis enthusiasts. If you’re a producer, check out Maratek’s website to see how growing your production facility can help you take advantage of these market niches! Alternatively, contact us today for more information!

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