Field of the Invention

[001] The present invention relates to the field of cannabis products, and more specifically to a method for the production of at least two cannabis products, at least one of which is a smokable cannabis product, the method comprising providing at least two cannabis plant materials each comprising attached trichomes; mechanically treating a first cannabis plant material to obtain separated trichomes and trichome- depleted cannabis plant material; processing the separated trichomes to obtain a first cannabis product; blending the trichome-depleted cannabis plant material with the second cannabis plant material to form a blend; and processing the blend into a smokable cannabis product.

Background of the invention

[002] Cannabis cannabinoids and terpenes are produced and stored in trichomes, which are found in various parts of the cannabis plant, particularly in the inflorescence.

[003] Inflorescence may be trimmed to form trimmed inflorescence and a residue referred to as trim. Trimmed inflorescence may be ground and optionally mixed with tobacco to form a smokable product, while the trim is extracted to obtain the cannabinoids contained within trichomes of the trim. Parts of the inflorescence which are too small to be used in cigarette production may be combined with the trim prior to extraction. Alternatively, the whole inflorescence may be extracted.

[004] Extraction of trim and/or inflorescence comprises contacting the plant material with a volatile solvent to form a diluted extract, followed by evaporation of the solvent to form a concentrated extract, which generally comprises impurities, most of which result from extracted parts of plant material other than trichomes. Purification of the extract increases the cost and decreases the yield of cannabinoid production.

[005] Use of separated trichomes provides a cannabinoid- rich material which is more suitable for extraction than whole inflorescence or other cannabis plant material, requiring less solvent, resulting in lower energy consumption for solvent extraction, and greater purity, but lower yield. That is since complete recovery of the trichomes is practically impossible and since extending the trichomes-separation step results in increased content of impurities in the separated trichomes. [006] There is a need for method of production of cannabis products which is cost effective, efficient and provides cannabinoids at a high level of purity.

Summary of the invention

[007] According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method for the production of at least two cannabis products, wherein at least one product is a smokable cannabis product, the method comprising:

(i) providing at least a first cannabis plant materials and at least a second cannabis plant material, each comprising attached trichomes, wherein said attached trichomes of each of said first and second cannabis plant materials comprise at least one cannabinoid at a concentration in the range of from about o.5%wt to about 25%wt of said respective first and second cannabis plant material;

(ii) mechanically treating said first cannabis plant material for a duration sufficient to separate between 35%wt and 85%wt of trichomes attached thereto, whereby first separated trichomes and first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material are formed;

(iii) processing at least a fraction of said first separated trichomes into a first cannabis product;

(iv) blending at least a fraction of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material with at least a fraction of said second cannabis plant material to form a blend, and

(v) processing said blend into a second product which is a smokable cannabis product comprising trichomes of each of said first and said second cannabis plant materials.

Brief description of the figures

[008] Some embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to the accompanying figures. The description, together with the figures, makes apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art how some embodiments of the invention may be practiced. The figures are for the purpose of illustrative discussion and no attempt is made to show structural details of an embodiment in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention. For the sake of clarity, some objects depicted in the figures are not to scale.

[009] In the Figures: Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a method in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method of Fig. 1.

Detailed Description of the invention

[ooio] The present invention relates to methods for the production of at least two cannabis products, wherein at least one such product is a smokable product.

[oon] Separation of trichomes from cannabis plant material prior to extraction of cannabinoids results in cannabinoids having a high degree of purity, but at a low yield. Increasing yield by extending the separation step results in lower purity.

[0012] The method of the present invention enables trichomes having a high degree of purity to be used for extraction, while minimizing reduction of cannabinoid yield, by separating only a fraction of trichomes from a cannabis plant material to form separated trichomes and trichome-depleted plant material, further processing the separated trichomes to produce a first cannabis product and blending the trichome- depleted plant material with a second plant material to form a smokable product. The method therefore provides two cannabis plant products, while minimizing overall cannabinoid loss.

[0013] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

[0014] The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0015] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should be construed in light of the number of significant digits and ordinary rounding approaches. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements. Every numerical range given throughout this specification will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such broader numerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expressly written herein.

[0016] As used herein, when a numerical value is preceded by the term "about", the term "about" is intended to indicate +/-10% of that value.

[0017] As used herein, the terms “comprising”, “including”, "having" and grammatical variants thereof are to be taken as specifying the stated features, integers, steps or components but do not preclude the addition of one or more additional features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. These terms encompass the terms "consisting of' and "consisting essentially of'. As used herein, the terms “water content” and “moisture content” are used interchangeably.

[0018] Unless indicated otherwise, percent is weight percent and ratio is weight/weight ratio.

[0019] Unless indicated otherwise, the term “cannabis plant material” as used herein refers to a material obtained from a plant of the species Cannabis Sativa.

[0020] The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the various embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

[0021] The present invention will now be described by reference to more detailed embodiments. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0022] Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

[0023] According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method for the production of at least two cannabis products, wherein at least one product is a smokable cannabis product, the method comprising:

(i) providing at least a first cannabis plant material and at least a second cannabis plant material, each comprising attached trichomes, wherein said attached trichomes of each of said first and second cannabis plant materials comprise at least one cannabinoid at a concentration in the range of from about o.5%wt to about 25%wt of said respective first and second cannabis plant material;

(ii) mechanically treating said first cannabis plant material for a duration sufficient to separate between 35%wt and 85%wt of trichomes attached thereto, whereby first separated trichomes and first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material are formed;

(iii) processing at least a fraction of said first separated trichomes into a first cannabis product;

(iv) blending at least a fraction of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material with at least a fraction of said second cannabis plant material to form a blend, and

(v) processing said blend into a second cannabis product which is a smokable product comprising trichomes of each of said first and said second cannabis plant materials.

[0024] Referring now to Fig. 1, there is provided a schematic representation of an embodiment of a method in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

[0025] Method (10) produces at least two cannabis products (12), (14), wherein at least one product (14) is a smokable cannabis product. Method (10) comprises providing at least a first cannabis plant material (16) and at least a second cannabis plant material (18), each comprising attached trichomes, wherein said attached trichomes of each of said first and second cannabis plant materials comprise at least one cannabinoid at a concentration in the range of from about o.5%wt to about 25%wt of said respective first and second cannabis plant material.

[0026] First cannabis plant material (16) is mechanically treated (20) for a duration sufficient to separate between 35%wt and 85%wt of trichomes attached thereto, whereby first separated trichomes (22) and first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material (24) are formed.

[0027] At least a fraction of said first separated trichomes is processed (26) into a first cannabis product (12).

[0028] At least a fraction of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material (24) is blended (28) with at least a fraction of said second cannabis plant material (18) to form a blend (30). Blend (30) is processed (32) into a second cannabis product (14) which is a smokable product comprising trichomes of each of said first and said second cannabis plant materials.

[0029] According to some embodiments, the at least two cannabis products comprise two products, at least three products or at least four products.

[0030] According to some embodiments, said first cannabis product is a non- smokable product. According to some embodiments, both said first and said second cannabis products are smokable products.

[0031] According to some embodiments, said attached trichomes of said first cannabis plant material, said second cannabis plant material, or both said first and said second cannabis plant materials comprise one cannabinoid, two cannabinoids, three cannabinoids, four cannabinoids or at least five cannabinoids.

[0032] According to some embodiments, a total concentration of cannabinoids in trichomes of said first and/or said second cannabis plant material is about o.5wt%, about i.owt%, about 2wt%, about 3wt%, about 4wt%, about 5wt%, about 6wt%, about 7wt%, about 8wt%, about 9wt%, about iowt%, about nwt%, about i2wt%, about i3wt%, about i4wt%, about i5wt%, about i6wt%, about i7wt%, about i8wt%, about i9wt%, about 20wt%, about 2iwt%, about 22wt%, about 23wt% or about 25wt% of the respective first and second plant material.

[0033] According to some embodiments, mechanically treating said first cannabis plant material comprises sieving, rotation in a mechanical tumbler, or a combination thereof. According to some such embodiments, said mechanically treating is carried out for a duration of at least 1 min, at least 2 mins, at least 5 mins, at least 10 mins, at least 20 mins, at least 30 mins, at least 40 mins, at least 50 mins, or at least 1 hour. According to some embodiments, a pore size of a sieve used for said sieving is less than about 200 microns, such as less than 200, less than 190, less than 180, less than 170, less than 160, less than 150, less than 140, less than 130, less than 120, less than 110 or less than too microns. In some embodiments, said first cannabis plant material is cooled prior to said treating or during said treating to a temperature of no more than about 5°C. According to some embodiments, said cooling comprises keeping in a freezer at about minus 20 degrees Celsius, adding ice water or adding dry ice.

[0034] According to some embodiments, about 34wt%, about 40wt%, about 45wt%, about 50wt%, about 55wt%, about 6owt%, about 65wt%, about 70wt%, about 75wt%, about 8owt% or about 8swt% of said trichomes are separated from the first cannabis plant material to which they were initially attached.

[0035] According to some embodiments, processing said first separated trichomes into a first cannabis product comprises contacting with a solvent at a solvent to trichomes volume/volume ratio of from about 1:1 to about 1:10 to form a cannabinoid- containing solvent and cannabinoids-depleted trichomes and separating said first cannabinoid-containing solvent from said first cannabinoid-depleted trichomes to form separated cannabinoid-containing solvent and first separated cannabinoid- depleted trichomes. According to some such embodiments, a solvent to trichomes volume/volume ratio is about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9 or about 1:10.

[0036] According to some embodiments, said solvent has a boiling point of less than 14O°C, further comprising separating at least a fraction of said solvent from said separated cannabinoid-carrying solvent to form a concentrated extract. According to some such embodiments, the solvent has a boiling point of less than 14O°C, less than 13O°C, less than 12O°C, less than no°C, less than ioo°C, less than 9O°C, less than 8o°C, less than 7O°C, less than 6o°C, less than 5O°C, less than 4O°C, less than 3O°C, or even less than 20°C.

[0037] According to some embodiments, said separating said cannabinoid- containing solvent from said first cannabinoid-depleted trichomes comprises evaporation of said solvent.

[0038] According to some embodiments, said solvent is selected from the group consisting of ethanol, a hydrocarbon, super-critical CO2 and combinations thereof.

[0039] According to some embodiments, said solvent comprises a vegetable oil. According to some embodiments, said vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of olive oil, sesame oil, medium-chain triglycerides and combinations thereof.

[0040] According to some embodiments, at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said first separated trichomes are processed into said first cannabis product. [0041] According to some embodiments, at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 3Owt%, at least 4Owt%, at least 5Owt%, at least 6owt%, at least 7Owt%, at least 8owt%, at least 9Owt%, or about ioowt% of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material is blended with at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said second cannabis plant material to form said blend.

[0042] According to some embodiments, said processing said blend into a second cannabis product which is a smokable product comprises grinding said blend to provide particles of size no greater than about 4 mm, such as less than 4 mm, less than 3 mm, less than 2 mm, less than 1 mm, less than 0.5 mm, less than 0.1 mm. In some embodiments, said first cannabis plant material is cooled to a temperature of no more than about 5°C prior to said grinding. According to some embodiments, said cooling comprises keeping in a freezer at about minus 20 degrees Celsius, adding ice water or adding dry ice.

[0043] According to some embodiments, the method further comprises mechanically treating said second cannabis plant material for separation of between 5%wt and 50%wt of trichomes attached thereto, whereby second separated trichomes and second trichomes-depleted cannabis plant material are formed and wherein said blending is of said at least a fraction of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material with at least a fraction of said second trichomes-depleted cannabis plant material.

[0044] According to some embodiments, at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material is blended with at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said second trichome-depleted cannabis plant material to form said blend.

[0045] According to some embodiments, mechanically treating said second cannabis plant material comprises sieving, rotation in a mechanical tumbler, or a combination thereof. According to some such embodiments, said mechanically treating is carried out for a duration of at least 1 min, at least 2 mins, at least 5 mins, at least 10 mins, at least 20 mins, at least 30 mins, at least 40 mins, at least 50 mins, or at least 1 hour.

[0046] According to some embodiments, a pore size of a sieve used for said sieving is less than about 200 microns, such as less than 200, less than 190, less than 180, less than 170, less than 160, less than 150, less than 140, less than 130, less than 120, less than 110 or less than too microns. In some embodiments, said first cannabis plant material is cooled to a temperature of no more than about 5 ⁰ C prior to said sieving. According to some embodiments, said cooling comprises keeping in a freezer at about minus 20 degrees Celsius, adding ice water or adding dry ice.

[0047] According to some embodiments, about 34wt%, about 40wt%, about 45wt%, about 50wt%, about 55wt%, about 6owt%, about 65wt%, about 70wt%, about 75wt%, about 8owt% or about 8swt% of said second trichomes are separated from the second cannabis plant material to which they were initially attached.

[0048] According to some embodiments, at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said second separated trichomes are processed into said first cannabis product.

[0049] According to some embodiments, the method further comprises blending at least a fraction of said first cannabinoid-depleted trichomes with said at least a fraction of said first trichomes-depleted plant material and with at least a fraction of said second cannabis plant material to form said blend.

[0050] According to some embodiments, at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said first separated cannabinoid-depleted trichomes are blended with at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material, and with at least iowt%, at least 20wt%, at least 30wt%, at least 40wt%, at least 50wt%, at least 6owt%, at least 70wt%, at least 8owt%, at least 90wt%, or about ioowt% of said second cannabis plant material to form said blend.

[0051] According to some embodiments, processing at least a fraction of said first separated trichomes comprises exposing said trichomes to a temperature between 4O°C and 14O°C, such as 4O°C, 5O°C, 6o°C, 7O°C, 8o°C, 9O°C, ioo°C, no°C, 12O°C, 13O°C, or 14O°C for a period between 1 minute and 2 hours, such as 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes, 60 minutes,, 65 minutes, 70 minutes, 75 minutes, 80 minutes, 85 minutes, 90 minutes, 95 minutes, too minutes, 105 minutes, 110 minutes, 115 minutes, or 2 hours. [0052] According to some embodiments, a cannabinoid concentration in said first cannabis plant material is in the range of from about o.5%wt to about i5%wt, such as about o.5%wt, about i%wt, about 2%wt, about 3%wt, about 4%wt, about 5%wt, about 6%wt, about 7%wt, about 8%wt, about 9%wt, about io%wt, about n%wt, about i2%wt, about i3%wt, about i4%wt or about i5%wt.

[0053] According to some embodiments, cannabinoid content of said first cannabis plant material differs from that of the cannabinoid content of said second cannabis plant material by less than about 10%, such as less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, less than 1%, less than 0.5%, less than 0.2%, or even less than 0.1%.

[0054] According to some embodiments, said first and second cannabis plant material are obtained from a single plant source, wherein said first cannabis plant material comprises inflorescence and said second cannabis plant material comprises trim.

[0055] According to some embodiments, said first and second cannabis plant material are obtained from a single plant source, wherein said first cannabis plant material comprises trim and said second cannabis plant material comprises inflorescence.

[0056] According to some embodiments, said first and said cannabis plant material are provided by division of a single plant source into two portions.

[0057] According to some embodiments, said second cannabis plant material are two different plant sources, such as two different batches or two different chemovars.

[0058] Fig. 2 provides a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of method (10) of Fig. 1, wherein the first and second cannabis plant materials (16), (18) are obtained from a single plant source comprising cannabis flowers (34). Cannabis flowers (34) are trimmed (36) to provide first plant source (16) comprising trim (38) and second plant source (18) comprising trimmed inflorescence (40).

[0059] Following mechanical treating (20) of first cannabis plant material (38), first separated trichomes (22) are subjected to processing (26) comprising extraction (42) with a volatile solvent to form an extract (44) comprising a cannabinoid- containing solvent and cannabinoid-depleted trichomes. A first fraction of extract (44) is treated by evaporation (46) of the cannabinoid-containing solvent to provide a concentrated extract which constitutes first cannabis product (12) and separated cannabinoid-depleted trichomes (48). At least a fraction of the separated cannabinoids-depleted trichomes (48) is blended with first trichome-depleted cannabis plant material (24) and with second cannabis plant material (40) to form blend (30).

[0060] Blend (30) is processed by grinding (50) to provide second cannabis product (14).

Examples

Example 1: Trichome separation - Time Vs. purity

[0061] Cannabis inflorescence was provided and trimmed to form trimmed inflorescence and trim. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that the trimmed inflorescence and the trim each contained about 17wt% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

[0062] 1030 grams of trim, containing 177 g THC (17.2% w/w of the trim) were inserted into a trichome separating machine (TSM) (such as the 420 Alchemist Trichome Extractor manufactured by GreenBroz Inc, Nevada, USA), equipped with a 180pm net. The TSM was operated for 75 minutes and 300 g of separated trichomes were collected and the cannabinoid content analyzed.

[0063] The remaining trichome-depleted material was collected, weighed, and the cannabinoid content analyzed.

[0064] Analysis of the separated trichomes identified 130 gr of THC, indicating a trichome separation yield of 73.6%.

[0065] Analysis of the trichome-depleted material identified a THC concentration of 11.0%.

Example 2 - Extraction of separated trichomes

[0066] Separated trichomes from Example 1 above were extracted with 96% (v/v) ethanol solvent at a trichome/ethanol ratio of 1/5 (w/w). After 30 minutes, the trichomes were removed from the solvent using a mesh filter bag having pore size of 25 microns to provide trichome, and the ethanol was evaporated. The extract was analyzed for cannabinoids. Results are presented in Table 1 below, wherein total THC is present in the decarboxylated form.

Table 1

Example 3 - Blending of trichome-depleted cannabis material with cannabis plant material

[0067] Trichome-depleted cannabis material obtained according to Example 1, having a total THC of 11% (w/w), was ground to form ground trichome-depleted material.

[0068] Trimmed inflorescence, containing 17% THC, was ground to form ground trimmed inflorescence.

[0069] 50gr of ground trichome-depleted material were blended with 50 gr of ground trimmed inflorescence to form a homogenous blend.

[0070] The homogenous blend was analyzed for cannabinoids and was inserted into pre-rolled cones to produce cannabis cigarettes.

[0071] The cannabis cigarettes were artificially smoked using a peristaltic pump to verify ordinary combustion.

[0072] The total THC content of the blended material was 14% (w/w) with Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of 5%. The cigarettes prepared from the blended material were properly burned.