Something new is growing in California, and this time it's not just in the greenhouse. For the first time ever, UC Berkeley - ranked the number one public university in the United States - is stepping into the cannabis and hemp space. The collaboration with Glass House marks a shift that is as symbolic as it is scientific: a prestigious academic institution entering into a formal partnership with a cannabis company.
"This is unique and exciting," says Graham Farrar, co-founder of Glass House. "We're talking about the best of the best here. Just the fact that this partnership exists is groundbreaking. It's one more brick in the wall to normalize cannabis, to take away the taboo and end the stigma. This agreement is another step towards that."
Supporting cannabis like a regular ag crop
Berkeley has a long history of agricultural support in California. From helping strawberry growers fight pests to improving general farming practices, the institution has consistently contributed to the state's ag sector. Cannabis, Farrar points out, is also a plant. "It's an amazing plant, but at the end of the day, it's still a plant. Bringing it into the agricultural fold means the brightest minds at Berkeley are focusing their resources on how cannabis can be better."
© Glass House Farms
One of the main areas of this cannabis collaboration is breeding and genetics. "Selective breeding in cannabis is still in its infancy," Farrar explains. "Historically, it's always been in the shadows. If you look at corn or other crops, they've been improved for decades through breeding programs. Cannabis has never had that in a formalized, academic way."
The research will also extend to policy, an area where cannabis still sees inconsistent treatment. "Cannabis is agricultural, but it's not treated like the rest of agriculture. It is it's treated like a second class citizen, overly regulated, left out of programs from federally insured ag loans to crop insurance. We need to start treating cannabis like a regular crop that can be exported around the country, and those that grow it like farmers, with all the support programs that that would entail for any other crop."
Berkeley will also be contributing to high-tech initiatives already underway at Glass House. That includes AI vision systems, to assist with crop tracking. "It's about counting the number of tops, analyzing leaf area indexs, things like that. We've been doing this by hand. Now, we're working with video feeds and machine learning to automate that process."
The goal is to turn collected data into actionable decisions - from which strain brings the most revenue per square foot to season-specific insights. "We've collected a lot of data. The idea is to make that usable and help move the entire industry forward."
Not only growing, but also regulation
The collaboration also includes sustainability and regulatory innovation. "We're working on recycling initiatives, farm waste management, both organic and inorganic," Graham notes. "We're kicking off product development as well. Our medical and science advisor helped develop Epidiolex, the only FDA-approved cannabis drug. He's part of the conversation around clinical validation. For instance, how do we validate things like our Muscle balms, and sleep gummies? We are working with folks who can help answer those questions scientifically."
From policy ideas like safe harbor for cultivation and production, where hemp cultivation is permitted for export out of state, Graham sees opportunities to bring clarity and consistency. "California has the best environment for growing cannabis and hemp. We should be able to export compliant hemp to other states. There's no reason a grower here shouldn't be able to send a better-tested, higher-quality product to Texas or Florida, for example."
Graham points out how being a public company helped build this collaboration: seven years of audited financials, a fully regulated and transparent operation. "That's what gave people confidence in this partnership. If you look at the resumes of the people involved at Glass House, it becomes clear. This is a real operation."
Glass House is already trialing genetics and working on machine learning projects and AI vision systems. "Machine learning and AI will be among the first things we bring to production. We're pushing aggressively." And while many in the industry still talk about future potential, Graham and Glass House are more focused on what's already underway. "We're not just trying to help ourselves. We're trying to help the whole industry move forward."
For more information:
Glass House Farms
www.glasshousefarms.org