From: Andy Peters
Sent: Wed Jun 05 09:30:43 2019
To: Gerald Fisher
Subject: 10000ft on CBD Oil Production
Importance: Normal
Gerald here is what I can find in 10 mins. These are only initial concerns for you, more research would be needed to give this subject a fair treatment.
- 1. Checking the application with Alice we think they are trying to process CDB-rich cannabis in to essential oil. If that is NOT what they are doing, then the below should be reviewed.
- 2. CBD is not illegal. However, most sources claim it’s not practical to ensure full removal of THC from this process. About 3%-5% of the final product will likely be THC, and therefore, the product produced will likely still be considered federally illegal.
- 3. One process that can accomplish CBD production takes Cold Ethanol and mixes it with the plant material to separate the CDB. The process is highly flammable from start to finish. After ethanol treatment the pulp is put through a sieve and filter, then you steam bath the material (similar to what a coffee maker does). Then you will cook the resulting material, such as in a water distiller. Most of the ethanol can be recovered in this way and reused, but the resulting product will be ethanol laden essential oil. You then allow the ethanol to volatize from this essential oil into the atmosphere, and test the final product to see if it’s flammable. If it is, you keep cooking, if it’s not you are done.
- 4. Every step above will produce a liquid waste stream unless equipment such as evaporators are put in place, and even then I’m not sure how you would avoid putting something down a drain. For example, if an ethanol/cannabis mixture batch in step 1 gets contaminated and can’t be used, it will need to go down the drain, be evaporated, or be hauled away.
Andy Peters
City of Molalla
Public Works Operations Supervisor
(503) 829-6855 x220
Cell: 503-793-0507
apeters@cityofmolalla.com
117 N Molalla Ave
Molalla, OR 97038