Cannabinoids, the chemical compounds found in cannabis, have been pretty much established as lipophilic or fat-soluble. This means that cannabinoids break down or dissolve in fats or lipids, instead of water.
This is the reason why cannabinoids are extracted through methods like winterizing, distillation, and using butane or CO2 systems. This is also why the most common modes of delivery, other than through smokable cannabis products, is by using a carrier oil.
But can cannabinoids be formulated to be water-soluble or water-compatible? Can they be incorporated into water?
There are cannabinoids, like THC and CBD, that can be made water-compatible if they are formulated as nano-emulsions or micro-emulsions. Nano- and micro-emulsions are stable and visually homogenous water/oil mixtures. Both can be prepared in concentrated forms, which are fully compatible with water. However, both of these need surfactants, which dilute them.
Let’s not get too technical, though, because the process is more complicated.
Company develops water-soluble cannabinoid technology
The great news is just that a Canadian company, Infusion Biosciences Canada, has developed a water-soluble cannabinoid technology. Infusion Biosciences has discovered naturally occurring versions of the chemical compounds in the cannabis plant that actually get along fine with water.
The company’s discovery, and the patent-pending technology that accompanies it, reverses the decades-long scientific understanding of cannabis chemistry. What’s more, it opens the door to a new facet of cannabis product development.
Aqueous Phytorecovery Process technology
Infusion Biosciences developed its proprietary APP or Aqueous Phytorecovery Process technology, which it claims to be considerably gentler than current known methods of cannabis oil extraction. The resulting extract carries all of the original strain’s characteristics and therefore delivers natural cannabinoids in a more efficient manner than oil-based solutions.
With water-soluble extracts, the onset of therapeutic effects is quicker. This solves a common problem for oil extracts, as well as the edible products created from them, which is that they characterized by a delayed onset and prolonged duration of effects. This is why, for those using cannabis for medicinal purposes, relief takes time and it may be hard to get the precise dosing.
APP, on the other hand, delivers precise doses of cannabinoids that take effect in less than five minutes and then wear off in one to one and a half hours. In other words, APP takes out the guessing game.
By using APP technology, you get a cannabis product that gives users an experience similar to smoking pot, but without the negative health effects, without the inconvenience, and without the social stigma that is associated with smoking.