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Biohackers Are Engineering Yeast To Make THC

Posted by timothy on from the really-great-bread-man dept.

meghan elizabeth writes How do you get weed without the weed? By genetically engineering yeast to produce THC, of course. Once theorized in a stoner magazine column more than a decade ago, a biotech startup working in Ireland is actively trying to transplant the genetic information that codes for both THC and another cannabinoid called CBD into yeast so that "marijuana" can be grown in a lab—no plants necessary.

1 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. No wouldnt be fun at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    With only THC and none of the other cannabinoids all you are just going to get is very anxious and very paranoid and I doubt anybody wants that. We discover something new about the endocannabinoid system almost every day. If you expose yourselves to chronic high levels of THC alone you are going to find some of those receptors downregulated retarding the action of GABA. Cannabidiol (CBD) is essential, it is a weak cannabinoid receptor antagonist/agonist the role depends on dose concentration and is highly anxiolytic. Trust me you want it.