Potent Rope: Edible Cannabis Filament

Yeah, let that sink in. Edible. Cannabis. Filament. Whoa.

Potent Rope is the brainchild of Paige Colen and Ashley Herr, two sisters who are making a huge difference in both the cannabis and 3D printing industries. The idea came to them when sitting around a bonfire, discussing the vast amount of strains and possibilities available to medical patients in California. This was a couple of years ago.

Paige recalls “I said out loud, I wish I could just email you the different strains. We looked at each other, held hands, and we both smiled and said That’s something. The next day we really tried to figure out how we could email weed, then after a little more thinking the 3D printing aspect came about, it wasn’t ‘emailing weed,’ but it was pretty damn close.”

Fast forward to present day, and they’re extruding potent rope with our Filabot EX2 extruder system, with a patent on creating edible filament. The idea is about accurate dosage for patients who have different medical needs, strain preferences, and deficiencies with their endocannabinoid receptors. Most edible products aren’t mixed well, and that can lead customers and patients to have different reactions each time they consume edible marijuana. Potent Rope aims to change that.

For Paige and Ashley, it was important to grow the company organically, from processing, to growing their own cannabis in order to control and maintain dosage quality. They’ve been developing CAD designs that precisely creates an edible with a known and measured dosage. And for the past two years, they’ve been applying for medical cannabis processing licenses in Maryland and Pennsylvania. While producing the cannabis themselves is extremely important to them, they also have agreements with companies in Nevada, Maryland, California, and Colorado.

Creating Potent Rope starts with drying cannabis oil, which decarboxylates it, meaning that the THC present in the oil is activated. Then the dried oil is mixed homogeneously with a water-soluble thermoplastic. Paige assures me “the average person consumes about 44 pounds of this type of plastic every year, it is in practically everything—beer, wine, teeth whitening strips—it’s also FDA approved.” So this thermoplastic is okay to ingest, but don’t chew on any PET or PLA.

After adding some disintegrants so the printed edibles dissolve quickly when you put them in your mouth, terpenes for health, taste and smell are added with a little bit of color. And viola! the mixture is put into the Filabot and the Potent Rope is extruded into filament.

The Filabot plays a huge role in the creation of Potent Rope and we’re proud of that. “The Filabot extruder takes an active mixture and turns it into the novel idea that is Potent Rope. Once our mixture is in filament form it is up to the consumer/patient to see where Potent Rope can take them in the comfort of their own home—the possibilities are endless!” Not only is the Filabot used to create this exciting new product, the same system we sent Potent Rope three years ago still operates and functions smoothly.

Creating and storing Potent Rope is similar to any other filament that is extruded using the Filabot. It’s more flexible than ABS or PET but like any other cannabis product, it needs to be stored in a cool, dry, dark, airtight space. When shipped, the filament will be packaged with desiccants to wick away any excess moisture to maintain the integrity of the product.

But why an edible or consumable 3D printed product? Paige hammers it home eloquently:

As Potent Rope is “edible” but is not considered to be “food,” since it is primarily made from pharmaceutical excipients, it allows us to circumvent the edible restrictions in  states that do not allow candies or foods, providing an edible product to consumers that still meets the more stringent medical criteria. Rather than taking a 10mg liquid-gel capsule full of cannabis oil or a tablet, how about 3D printing a 7.5mg poodle, or Eiffel Tower, or a tiny rocket ship to meet you very specific dialed in needs? This filament will allow for us to tailor make specialized cannabinoid profiles that will specifically address any individual’s requirements.

What’s clear to us at Filabot is that Paige and Ashley are serious when it comes to quality; ensuring that their product and company meet specific goals and the needs of their customers. Quality, especially for medical patients, is extremely important and we’re impressed with the precision Potent Rope allows for in the medical field. Removing all of the uncertainty about dosage for medical patients is what makes Potent Rope a serious game changer.

Potent Rope will be licensed to cannabis processing companies in a variety of different states where the legal consumption of cannabis products is growing. It’s unfortunate for the company to have to do business state by state, but it’s a step in the right direction for getting Potent Rope on shelves and ready to use for consumers and patients. One thing that is admirable, though admittedly limiting, is that Potent Rope only uses cultivators that do not use pesticides or chemicals in their growing process.

So yeah. Edible. Cannabis. Filament. Potent Rope is poised to be on shelves in two states where consumption of marijuana products is legal by the end of the year. But it doesn’t end there, Soup Rope (just add water!) and other 3D printable edible products are in the works. Keep an eye out for Potent Rope and the changing landscape of edible filament. Paige and Ashley are doing great things, and we’re proud the Filabot plays such an active role in their product! Check them out at http://www.potentrope.com for more information and updates.

We at Filabot love learning about what our customers are doing and how they’re changing the world. If you or someone you know is creating, making and shaking things up with our products: let us know!

And remember: cannabis is illegal for consumption in many states. Here at Filabot we do not condone or support the illegal consumption of cannabis in any form.

Best,
The Filabot Team