High Hopes for Possible Bioengineered Cannabis

Genetically modified cannabis might turn into a lucrative cash crop someday. Already, scientists are racing each other to sequence the cannabis genome. That would enable producers to highlight desired traits, make the plants less dependent on pesticides, or possibly develop new medical treatment options for cannabis. There aren’t many regulations guiding the budding business sector. That makes things uncertain for both growers and consumers. Modified marijuana is still in the research and development stage, but the products could jump from labs to farms within only a few years. Politico says there is no framework in place for studying the safety risks of biotech cannabis for humans and other plants. Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, so USDA and FDA can’t regulate the product like they can for other genetically engineered plants. Large agribusiness companies like Bayer and Syngenta aren’t active in the emerging business space yet, leaving startups to dominate the field so far.