Each month we feature a selection of our Co-op Members and Supporters. They live the Co-op’s mission and demonstrate the innovative nature of the independent entrepreneurs that make up BC’s highly skilled craft cannabis sector.
Dr Rob O’Brien and the team at Supra Research and Development are committed to using their scientific knowledge to help manufacturers and individuals make higher quality, safer products. As their motto states, they aspire to become “Your Quality Solution Provider.”
Rob has stated: “Our work is more than just a business proposition. Nature has blessed us with materials that can be germinated and developed into products that enrich people’s lives, improving health and well-being in real measurable ways. Our team has the scientific knowledge to help others make higher quality, safer products including those from Medicinal Herbs, Cannabis, as well as Medicinal Mushrooms. I created Supra to enable like-minded individuals to be part of a positive entity that improves their quality of life and the communities we interact with.”
Canada has complex regulations to ensure products such as Cannabis and Natural Health Products are produced safely and that health claims are backed by scientific evidence. As a result, the “Made in Canada” brand is highly respected. As the first G20 country to legalize Cannabis, the eyes of the world are on us to set the standards for both quality and legal production. However, dealing with these complex regulations is extremely challenging. In some cases, rules and guidelines put in place to protect youth and reduce illicit activities have had unintended consequences, some of which create bigger problems than those they were intended to solve.
Finding a path through the complex regulations and guidelines set by Health Canada has become extremely difficult, especially for those not familiar with dealing with such barriers. Over the last few years, Rob and the “Supra” team have secured numerous Health Canada Licenses, both in collaboration with large companies such as The Valens Company and Factors R&D Technologies Ltd., as well as securing licenses on Rob’s own farm, in a Quonset at that. Supra now has set up one of the best-equipped analytical labs in the Cannabis sector and was the first to secure ISO 17025 accreditation for Canadian Cannabis Testing Labs.
Having an advanced analytical lab enables Supra to do more than provide Certificates of Analysis (COAs) for licensed Cannabis producers. It also enables Supra to engage in cutting edge research and activities to improve international testing and quality standards. Supra has been actively engaged in such organizations as ASTM International, AOAC International and the International Standards Organization (ISO) where methods developed at Supra are becoming international standards, while also providing input on what Cannabis Quality standards should be in the future.
Improved Cannabis Quality is one area that Supra wants to positively impact. At the current time, legal cannabis distributors are buying Cannabis primarily based on THC content. This is a trend that is forcing cultivators to produce only high THC varieties and highly stress their plants near the end of production.
Supra has a new campaign offering one free full Cannabinoid profile for anyone who sends Supra a Cannabis sample. Additional samples will be charged out at $80/sample which is half the normal cost for full Cannabinoid analysis. The discount code for this is #MorethanTHC.
Contact inquire@SupraRnD.ca or toll-free at 1-855-437-8772