Sask. Polytech awarded licences to study cannabis
![Feds funding cannabis research Feds funding cannabis research](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2018/1/24/feds-funding-cannabis-research-1-3774461-1679420795596.jpg)
Saskatchewan Polytechnic students may get a chance to try their hand at cannabis research, now that the school has been awarded federal licences to study the plants.
Blaine Chartrand, the bioscience technology program head, told CTV News the licences will give the school a chance to market its lab equipment to cannabis companies and give students hands-on experience in this growing industry.
“We have some specialized equipment in our labs and that allows us to … get students involved in a research process. They learn to do research, and we also get a chance to work with industry.”
Chartrand says the goal isn’t to compete with private companies that already offer these lab services but to work in partnership with the industry to teach students before they start their careers.
“I always default to my students and to education and provide training for them,” said Chartrand.
If any local companies find themselves sending samples to labs out of province, it couldn’t hurt to have a local option either, he says.
The school received two kinds of licenses to study cannabis — analytical and research licenses. The analytical work is what Sask. Polytech would offer to companies for a fee.
“We can look at terpenes. We can look at cannabinoids. We can do microbiome analysis and genotyping by sequencing, which might help with some of the breeding. We can analyze micronutrients or heavy metals — things like that,” said Chartrand in an Ag-West Bio news release.
Sask. Polytech is joining Ag-West Bio and Innovation Saskatchewan for an event on the budding provincial cannabis industry on March 29 called Stirring the Pot 2.0 at Boffins.
For more information, check out the event website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6941344.1719400735!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
She's still busy at 105. What secrets and science are behind Canada's 'super agers'?
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between social connection and healthy aging, and why the brains of super agers look different compared with their peers.
Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
Thousands gather in downtown Toronto for one of Canada's largest Pride parades
One of the country's largest Pride events will culminate Sunday with a massive celebration.
Is it cheaper to take time off work or send kids to summer camp?
It's a conundrum parents are faced with every summer: What should their children do during their break?
Faulty brakes, airbag systems: Here are the cars recalled in Canada
Transport Canada recalled various vehicles over the last week, including Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Porsche cars.
Time crunch, rules mess could plague a Liberal leadership race
Calls have intensified for Justin Trudeau to resign as head of the party he almost single-handedly pulled back from the brink after a decimating electoral defeat in 2011.
Centuries of stories, from some of Canada's centenarians
The Canadian Press has spent the past month interviewing some of Canada's more than 11,000 centenarians and their families. These are some of their stories.
'This amount of stress is awful': B.C. woman says senior relatives stranded in Calgary amid WestJet strike
A Maple Ridge, B.C. resident says her mother and mother-in-law’s first trip to Canada has ended on a frustrating note after their flight home was suddenly cancelled amid a strike at WestJet.
'7 years of regret': Raunchy leg piece wins bad tattoo competition at Edmonton Expo Centre
Friday night was a celebration of mistakes for a small group of body art enthusiasts.