Nexus Agriscience has announced that its subsidiary, Terpene Belt Farms, is participating as the industry research partner in a $1.23 million academic research grant awarded by the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to a UCLA-led coalition studying to a UCLA-led coalition researching naturally occurring flavor compounds in cannabis flower and defining thresholds to support sensible regulations for inhalable cannabis products.
The two-year project, titled "Characterization of Naturally Occurring Organoleptic Compounds for Inhalable Cannabis Regulation," brings together researchers from UCLA, UC Davis, S3 Collective, and Nexus to establish California's first Flower Flavor-Compound Reference Dataset (FRD). This dataset will provide regulators with scientifically validated terpene and volatile compound concentration thresholds that distinguish authentic plant-derived cannabis flavor from prohibited additives.
"Regulators are increasingly asked to distinguish what is 'naturally occurring cannabis flavor' from artificial additives, without access to comprehensive, plant-derived reference data," said Pamela Epstein, Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer of Nexus Agriscience. "We view this collaboration with UCLA, UC Davis, and S3 Collective as an opportunity to help close that gap with rigorous, regulator-ready science grounded in authentic cannabis chemistry."
California currently prohibits non-cannabis flavor additives in inhalable products to reduce youth appeal, but regulators lack validated reference data to differentiate naturally occurring cannabis chemistry from added compounds. The DCC-funded research is designed to address this gap by generating evidence-based benchmarks to support enforcement, product formulation, and future regulatory standards.
"This project reflects exactly why S3 Collective exists: to translate rigorous academic research into market-relevant standards and policy," said David Vaillencourt, Board Chair of S3 Collective. "With Nexus Agriscience contributing real-world, plant-derived chemistry expertise, we are creating California's first scientifically validated reference dataset for cannabis flavor compounds, giving regulators the foundation they need for consistent, enforceable regulation."
For more information:
Nexus Agriscience
https://nexusagriscience.com/
