The Extraction Issue
Extracts are quietly taking over the cannabis industry. While flower remains the top-selling product category at retail, products made from extracts — including edibles, vapes, concentrates and topicals — now account for almost 60% of legal cannabis sales in the United States. It’s a sector of the market that is only getting bigger, particularly as the scientific understanding of cannabis and extraction grows.
From the various methods of extraction and refinement to the latest innovations in products, Marijuana Venture takes an in-depth look at the market trends, best practices, equipment manufacturers, leading minds and scientific process of extraction.
Moxie
Moxie does a little bit of everything: The company has cultivation, manufacturing and distribution licenses in multiple states and even does retail delivery in California. In addition to flower, it produces just about every type of concentrate imaginable, from strain-specific vape pods to live resin badders and sauces, as well as a national CBD line.
Claim to Fame: In an industry that is so limited by state borders, Moxie is one of the leading national brands of concentrates and edibles, with operations in California, Nevada and Pennsylvania, as well as a licensing agreement to distribute products in Arizona and a forthcoming expansion into Florida.
Joshua Haddox, vice president of operations for MXY Holdings, the parent company of Moxie, says one of his primary goals since joining the company is to ensure that Moxie products are exactly the same from one state to the next.
The company does that through a robust quality control program that includes standard operating procedures for cultivation, harvesting and extraction, as well as conducting regular inspections at each facility and buying products at retail to ensure compliance.
Methodology: To produce its concentrates, Moxie uses hydrocarbon extraction because of its ability to selectively extract the desired cannabinoids and terpenes, while preventing the fats, lipids and chlorophyll from being pulled.
The company also does ethanol extraction in some markets to produce distillate for vape pens and other products.
Philosophy: “Everything is done professionally and as close to pharmaceutical standards as we can do. I think that really sets us up well for the future and the future of cannabis and what that entails.”