Colombia’s emerging legal cannabis industry is growing with every passing year, and according to a recent study, the nation’s climate and environment could give the cannabis produced there an edge over other parts of the world.
A team of researchers based in Colombia, Germany, and the United States recently examined terpenes in cannabis cultivated in Colombia. Terpenes are aromatic compounds that determine the smell of many plants and herbs, including cannabis.
“This study aimed to characterize and assess the phytochemical diversity of C. sativa chemotypes in diverse ecological regions of Colombia, South America.” The researchers stated the objective of their research.
“Ten cannabinoids and 23 terpenes were measured using liquid and gas chromatography, in addition to other phenotypic traits, in 156 C. sativa plants that were grown in diverse ecological regions in Colombia, a hotspot for global biodiversity.” the researchers stated about the study’s methodology.
“Our results reveal significant phytochemical diversity in Colombian-grown C. sativa plants, with four distinct chemotypes based on cannabinoid profile.” the researchers stated in their findings. “The significant amount of usually uncommon terpenes suggests that Colombia’s environments may have unique capabilities that allow the plant to express these compounds. Colombia’s diverse climates offer enormous cultivation potential, making it a key player in both domestic and international medicinal and recreational C. sativa trade.”
“These findings underscore Colombia’s capacity to pioneer global C. sativa production diversification, particularly in South America with new emerging markets.” the researchers concluded.
According to ProColombia, a government agency in charge of promoting nontraditional Colombian trade, the value of medical cannabis exports from Colombia was $10.8 million in 2023, which was an 11.3% increase over 2022, and a 96% increase from 2021.
Per Statista, Colombia’s legal cannabis industry is expected to increase to a value of $64.59 million by the end of this year, and “revenue is anticipated to experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 2.09%, leading to a market volume of US$71.64m by 2029.”
This article first appeared on Internationalcbc.com and is syndicated here with special permission.