Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) said it received a patent from the United States Patent and Trade Office for its process of extraction, refinement, and distillation of cannabinoids from marijuana and hemp.

The company believes that it is the first publicly-traded company to be issued a patent for the extraction and purification of cannabinoids.

“Nextleaf Solutions has succeeded in beating big pharma, big tobacco, big alcohol, and every single billion-dollar cannabis company to the first issued patent for the extraction and purification of cannabinoids.” CEO Paul Pedersen said in a statement.

Process Turns Low-Quality Biomass into High-Purity Distilled Oil

The process produces THC or CBD distillate which is tasteless, odourless, standardized for potency, and ready to use in a wide range of products, including topicals, transdermal or sublingual delivery technology, vape technology, edible oils, beverages, and water-soluble extracts, the company said in a statement.

The patented technology allows for low-quality dried cannabis biomass to be efficiently processed into a high-purity distilled oil, simplifying the manufacturing of differentiated cannabinoid formulations and delivery methods.

“Nextleaf’s patented process allows a cannabis processor to turn raw biomass or a crude extract into a refined, high-purity oil that’s tasteless, odourless, easy to standardize, or even make water soluble. Developed by Nextleaf’s team of chemists and engineers, it allows us to efficiently separate and isolate THC and CBD molecules at an industrial scale, before reformulating in the ideal combination based on the product, client, and end consumer’s needs,” Pedersen stated.

NextLeaf Sees Opportunities in Future

“We expect Nextleaf’s issued patent will have a major impact on the production of the next generation of legal cannabis products, especially since most federally-legal cannabis processors seem to be lacking the technology and expertise to do it themselves,” Pedersen added.

Currently, legal cannabis producers in Canada can only sell one form of cannabis extract with a maximum potency of approximately 3% THC.

However, the federal government announced that cannabis concentrates, edibles, beverages, topicals, and vape pens will be legal by October 2019, and is expected to publish draft regulations in the coming months. These products are extremely popular in other legal cannabis jurisdictions, and demand for them continues to grow.