On Feb. 8, Anja Geitmann, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, announced that McGill will offer two one-day professional workshops on the industrial production and quality control of medical cannabis. The workshops, to be held May 1 and 2, are in response to the imminent legalization of cannabis in Canada which will result in a need for highly-qualified personnel with knowledge in cannabis production.
Geitmann made the announcement during the annual Founder’s Day event at Macdonald Campus which featured an expert panel that explored the medical, legal and entrepreneurial perspectives of cannabis legalization.
“Clearly, [cannabis] is a complex topic and the questions are many,” Geitmann told a packed Centennial Centre Ballroom following the panel discussion. “And for those of you who would like to learn more, you are at the right place – the University’s mandate is to transfer knowledge… We are delighted to announce that on May 1 and 2, we have organized two one-day workshops [on cannabis].”
The May 1 workshop, titled Industrial-Scale Production of Medical Cannabis, will provide participants with an overview of specific requirements for industrial-scale greenhouse production of healthy cannabis plants, including environmental conditions, pest control and harvesting techniques.
The May 2 workshop, titled Extraction, Analysis, Quality Control, and Formulation of Medical Cannabis Products, will provide participants with an overview of techniques for extraction of active ingredients from cannabis plants; separation techniques; identification techniques; microbiological tests; and ingredient selection.
The workshops’ webpage says they are “targeted towards professionals associated with the plant production and greenhouse industries and professionals working in food science and medicinal chemistry who wish to begin work with medical cannabis. Workshops may also be of interest to graduate students in related discipline.”