Cannabis from yeast: will synthetic pot help grow the industry?

Much like making craft beer, yeast enzymes can be used to create THC and CBD, the active chemicals found in marijuana

Unlike other modern high growth industries, the pot business doesn’t require a doctorate in science, or even a college degree. Much of the economic hype which surrounds the industry depends on it remaining an agricultural product. But it might not always be that way.

In September, the Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks, which calls itself “the organism company”, landed a deal worth approximately $100m with Cronos Group, one of Canada’s most prominent cannabis companies. Ginkgo promises to produce the active ingredients in marijuana from genetically modified microorganisms, such as yeast. The company says its process, which draws on the field of synthetic biology, will produce a far greater array of valuable compounds at greater purity and for less money than marijuana plants can.

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