According to a new study published this week, scientists have found a way to make the active ingredients in marijuana without using the plant.
Jay Keasling, Ph.D. of the University of California, Berkeley, was the lead on the study, which showed that yeast can be genetically modified to make some major cannabinoids.
Keasling and his team have discovered that yeast can produce THCA (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) and CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), which are the chemical precursors to THC and CBD.
“Together,” the team writes, “these results lay the foundation for the large-scale production of both natural and synthetic cannabinoids, which could improve pharmacological research into these compounds.”
