5 ms·

I went ahead and looked up these patents. This one looks particularly bad: https://www.google.com/patents/US9370164 https://www.google.com/patents/US9370164 T

I went ahead and looked up these patents. This one looks particularly bad: https://www.google.com/patents/US9370164 https://www.google.com/patents/US9370164 This basically grants them a patent on every single cannabis plant which has >3% THC and CBD, and which Myrcene is not the dominant terpine. Can anyone who knows their bud say which strains this could be applied to? Also, the specification on this is HUGE. This represents a large investment; they're going to filing continuations on this until the cows come home. EDIT: I found this website: http://analytical360.com/ http://analytical360.com/ This lists a number of strains that could potentially read on this, such as Gorilla Glue: http://analytical360.com/m/archived/261533 http://analytical360.com/m/archived/261533

jasonlaramburu 9y ago
Myrcene is the dominant terpene in all strains of cannabis according to this study: http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha4208.html http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha4208.ht... Cannabis has been cultivated and sold illegally in the US for almost a century. It seems unlikely that the USPTO would be able to enforce compliance when law enforcement has not.
- microcolonel 9y ago
  The PTO is not charged with enforcing patents, that's what the courts are for.
- Taek 9y ago
  Legal marijuana will push out illegal marijuana. Large, industrial farms will outcompete anyone who is growing illegally. And that is going to make it much easier to regulate. Patents have the potential to pick the winners in this industry if they are handed out irresponsibily.
  - code_duck 9y ago
    Currently, the black market can provide cannabis in colorado, california or oregon for about half the price of the legal market (and generally, if you wanted half a lb to stock up for personal use, you can't just go buy it at a store anyway). Part of the lower price is due to competition from legal sources, part due to not paying taxes. Personally, I would rather grow it at home exactly like tomatoes, if it's herb. Most of the action these days is in extracts and fine products for connoisseurs. Don't underestimate the semi-luxury market - the same demographic who support microbreweries and small coffee roasters like cannabis. While there will be giant mass market Wal-Weed, and also large plantations like the wine complex of Napa, there will also be a lot, lot of small growers, extractors and breeders.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - sethrin 9y ago
      Ah, growing cannabis isn't quite like growing tomatoes. Growing tomatoes is something that a tomato plant does more or less of its own accord. Cannabis really wants to be 15 feet tall and to produce lots of little seeds. Getting it to exclusively produce flowers requires a bit more effort. The 15 feet tall thing may also require some adjustment. What I'd like to do is to create something about refrigerator-sized which would use hydroponics to get cannabis growing as close to being a push-button operation as possible. I built a prototype a few years ago that was at least able to provide the entertainment of being able to control the lights/fans/pumps via cron job, but life hasn't worked out to be able to do that again. I do think there's a market for such things for pretty much the reasons you identify.
      - code_duck 9y ago
        Outdoor varieties do grow that tall, or more. Indicas and modern hybrids tend more towards about 5 feet, but it all depends on training, pruning, whether you use clones (every serious grower uses clones, not flowering a single plant grown from seed). The seeds in your crop only happen if you have male plants, or a problem with hermaphrodites. Most people cull the males or use female clones. If you have a female plant, it only produces female flowers. Triggering flowering is quite simple as it only requires manipulation of photoperiod. Growing cannabis is really not that complicated… mot only has hemp been domesticated for thousands of years, but herbal varieties have been bred like heck for decades to be easier to grow and productive especially grown indoors. Fertilizer wise, it is a lot like tomatoes, loving rich soil, drainage and nitrogen, and then switching to a bloom cycle. Overall it's a very hearty and resilient plant (weed?). It's true that doing it well takes time, money, facilities and skill, and ideally passion. For the small, self-contained unit you described, it soubds like what people call a cabinet grow. I think there's a subreddit for that. The subterfuge aspect is less important these days, now that more people live in states where it is legal, but some still do cabinet grows for space or privacy reasons. The automatic aspect is a great idea... definitely there are vast opportunities in helping people grow their own healthy herbs.
  - csorrell 9y ago
    When greed meets control, you get a black market. I don't see illegal marijuana going away. There's always going to a black market for a product that's strictly regulated, so long as it's profitable and in high demand.
- DoctorNick 9y ago
  Unfortunately, this study is from 1997 and is out of date. This study from 2011 suggests that at least some strains do not have Myrcene as the dominant terpene: https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/variations-terpene-profiles-different-strains-cannabis-sativa-l https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/variations-terpene-profile...
  - jasonlaramburu 9y ago
    That's interesting. The strains with lower Myrcene are all Sativa. Myrcene is thought to cause the 'couch-lock' feeling common in Indicas.

jasonlaramburu 9y ago

Myrcene is the dominant terpene in all strains of cannabis according to this study: http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha4208.html http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha4208.ht... Cannabis has been cultivated and sold illegally in the US for almost a century. It seems unlikely that the USPTO would be able to enforce compliance when law enforcement has not.

microcolonel 9y ago
The PTO is not charged with enforcing patents, that's what the courts are for.
Taek 9y ago
Legal marijuana will push out illegal marijuana. Large, industrial farms will outcompete anyone who is growing illegally. And that is going to make it much easier to regulate. Patents have the potential to pick the winners in this industry if they are handed out irresponsibily.
- code_duck 9y ago
  Currently, the black market can provide cannabis in colorado, california or oregon for about half the price of the legal market (and generally, if you wanted half a lb to stock up for personal use, you can't just go buy it at a store anyway). Part of the lower price is due to competition from legal sources, part due to not paying taxes. Personally, I would rather grow it at home exactly like tomatoes, if it's herb. Most of the action these days is in extracts and fine products for connoisseurs. Don't underestimate the semi-luxury market - the same demographic who support microbreweries and small coffee roasters like cannabis. While there will be giant mass market Wal-Weed, and also large plantations like the wine complex of Napa, there will also be a lot, lot of small growers, extractors and breeders.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - sethrin 9y ago
    Ah, growing cannabis isn't quite like growing tomatoes. Growing tomatoes is something that a tomato plant does more or less of its own accord. Cannabis really wants to be 15 feet tall and to produce lots of little seeds. Getting it to exclusively produce flowers requires a bit more effort. The 15 feet tall thing may also require some adjustment. What I'd like to do is to create something about refrigerator-sized which would use hydroponics to get cannabis growing as close to being a push-button operation as possible. I built a prototype a few years ago that was at least able to provide the entertainment of being able to control the lights/fans/pumps via cron job, but life hasn't worked out to be able to do that again. I do think there's a market for such things for pretty much the reasons you identify.
    - code_duck 9y ago
      Outdoor varieties do grow that tall, or more. Indicas and modern hybrids tend more towards about 5 feet, but it all depends on training, pruning, whether you use clones (every serious grower uses clones, not flowering a single plant grown from seed). The seeds in your crop only happen if you have male plants, or a problem with hermaphrodites. Most people cull the males or use female clones. If you have a female plant, it only produces female flowers. Triggering flowering is quite simple as it only requires manipulation of photoperiod. Growing cannabis is really not that complicated… mot only has hemp been domesticated for thousands of years, but herbal varieties have been bred like heck for decades to be easier to grow and productive especially grown indoors. Fertilizer wise, it is a lot like tomatoes, loving rich soil, drainage and nitrogen, and then switching to a bloom cycle. Overall it's a very hearty and resilient plant (weed?). It's true that doing it well takes time, money, facilities and skill, and ideally passion. For the small, self-contained unit you described, it soubds like what people call a cabinet grow. I think there's a subreddit for that. The subterfuge aspect is less important these days, now that more people live in states where it is legal, but some still do cabinet grows for space or privacy reasons. The automatic aspect is a great idea... definitely there are vast opportunities in helping people grow their own healthy herbs.
- csorrell 9y ago
  When greed meets control, you get a black market. I don't see illegal marijuana going away. There's always going to a black market for a product that's strictly regulated, so long as it's profitable and in high demand.
DoctorNick 9y ago
Unfortunately, this study is from 1997 and is out of date. This study from 2011 suggests that at least some strains do not have Myrcene as the dominant terpene: https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/variations-terpene-profiles-different-strains-cannabis-sativa-l https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/variations-terpene-profile...
- jasonlaramburu 9y ago
  That's interesting. The strains with lower Myrcene are all Sativa. Myrcene is thought to cause the 'couch-lock' feeling common in Indicas.