Guy Rocourt, the CEO of the California cannabis company Papa & Barkley, has been interested in cannabis research since he first entered the marijuana business.
Papa & Barkley’s product development is science-based, and this is largely thanks to Roucourt’s constant effort to be updated and educated on all things cannabis. He stays up-to-date with industry research, and in his opinion, this kind of research can lend legitimacy to his products while also opening up the floor for improved client education.
Educated clients are purchasing clients. “We’ve always wanted to make products that are based on the most accurate cannabis science, so I can go out and speak agnostically about (the research),” Rocourt said. “The more you (the customer) know, the more likely you are to buy Papa & Barkley products, because we are formulating them to the best in class of cannabis science.”
Creating Their Own Research Opportunities
Rocourt tried to partner with research institutions a few years ago to look into the therapeutic effects of cannabis, but they either declined or didn’t respond. Rocourt assumed that they were concerned about losing federal funds, the stigma attached to marijuana, and prejudice in favor of traditional pharmaceuticals.
Rocourt remained unfazed and decided that if Papa & Barkley couldn’t conduct research in collaboration with academic institutions, the business would make use of its resources to conduct its own study through “in-home-use tests,” or IHUTs.
One of Papa & Barkley’s most valuable resources was a customer database. The registry, which was established with the company’s launch in 2016, includes both national consumers who had purchased CBD products, as well as customers who had purchased THC products in California’s regulated market.
According to Cassie Perlman, senior vice president for marketing at Papa & Barkley, setting up an IHUT is a multi-step process that begins with subject recruiting and screening.
The company requested roughly 100 people for their most recent IHUT examining the effectiveness of Papa & Barkley’s Sleep Releaf Tincture, which contains 4 milligrammes of THC, 2 milligrammes of CBD, and 1 mg of CBN per serving. Papa & Barkley sought to enroll 150 men and women, but due to the high rate of test dropouts, they were unable to reach their goal. Ninety-four participants ultimately finished the trial.
The Sleep Study
Papa & Barkley is currently conducting a sleep study. According to Perlman, Papa & Barkley referenced studies carried out in the natural holistic health and supplement businesses when developing the sleep study and other research. Papa & Barkley designed a sleep study with 94 individuals, advised them to take the sleep tincture daily for two weeks, and asked them to complete surveys at the conclusion of the first and second weeks using research from these industries as a guide.
Subjects were questioned about how long it took them to fall asleep after taking the tincture, how frequently they woke up, whether they felt foggy when they woke up, and how well-rested they thought they were.
Papa & Barkley reports that based on survey results, patients fell asleep an average of 20 minutes faster, woke up less frequently throughout the night, and didn’t feel foggy in the morning.
According to Rocourt, Papa & Barkley believes the same cannabis formulation could work in gummies or other infused goods, offering customers more options. “At the end of the day, it’s the same cannabis inputs and the same ratio,” he said. “We have disclaimers on all of our (sleep) products that say the study was done on a tincture but can apply to the entire Sleep Releaf collection.”
Despite the fact that their products are the focus of these studies, it is fantastic that they took the initiative to perform their own research. We can only hope that after reading the findings of studies like these, the scientific community will feel obligated to look into cannabis more thoroughly. There is now only one lab permitted to study cannabis in the United States, but additional permits are becoming available every day, so the future is looking bright. Papa & Barkley’s ultimate objective is to collaborate with a university, and their IHUTs give them a significant advantage.
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