FEATURE
In 2015, a curious video posted by a ‘Nicolas Trainerbees’
began to generate a lot of social media buzz.
In the short clip, a swarm of bees appeared to be feasting on
cannabis flowers.
It turned out that the video was not a hoax, much to the
embarrassment of the army of pitchfork-wielding bedroom beekeepers
who had expressed their disbelief in the comments section.
The man behind the video was long-time amateur entomologist
and medical cannabis advocate, Nicolas Trainer.
Nicolas said:
“For some time, I had known about the health benefits of bee
products such as honey, propolis, pollen, wax and royal jelly and also
about the benefits of cannabis”.
Ben Aharon said:
“There may be two optional mechanisms that can explain
the honey’s high-efficacy. The honey serves as a high-efficient
vector to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier. While producing the
honey, cannabinoids are transformed in the bees’ stomachs
into superiorly efficient molecules.”
The company plans to work with the pharmaceutical
industry to create products for specific medical conditions.
“In the future, if companies will prove that specific cannabis
strains can cure or treat specific illnesses, then we can make
honey from those specific strains, specifically to treat the
correlating illness.”
It appears to be good for the bees too. The company
claims that the bees’ superior diet has contributed to a
thriving population.
What next for this unlikely pairing?
Hopefully, an increase in cannabis production, advances in
technology and increasing environmental awareness will
have lasting and positive repercussions for bees, hemp and
humans alike.
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Nicolas spent two years training bees to collect resin to use in
their beehives. The resin is filtered through the bees and produces
cannahoney. The process does not affect the insects as they have no
endocannabinoid system.
While Nicolas doesn’t make money from his honey, one company is
set to cash in on his concept.
Israeli company PhytoPharma has created a range of products that
have the sweet flavour of honey and all the benefits of cannabis.
The bees feast on an IP-protected diet that includes cannabinoids.
The nutrients pass through the bees and into the CBD and THC
honeys.
In an interview with Forbes Magazine, PhytoPharma CEO Avner
Ben Aharon, said:
“We combined the healing powers of cannabis with the amazing
delivery capability of honey. We aim to continue to apply our unique
brand of ‘nature-tech’ to cannabis medicine, food, and beverages,
veterinary and cosmetic products.”
As well as being a tasty alternative to more traditional consumption
methods, the effects kick in within just five to ten minutes. This
may be ideal for people wanting quick absorption, especially so for
anyone with a sweet tooth.
The honey is also highly bioavailable and active in cannabinoid
concentrations 100 times lower than other formulations.