by Scientific experiments at university
Doctoral student has been growing cannabis for years – he has a tip for “hobby growers”.
Yesterday, April 26, 2024 | 15:51
With the introduction of the new law, private individuals are allowed to grow three cannabis plants. In the greenhouse of Christian Büser from the University of Hohenheim, however, hundreds are growing. The doctoral student has a tip for hobby growers.
The typical sweet smell is absent when you enter the room where Christian Büser is experimenting with cannabis plants. “They only smell when they bloom,” explains the doctoral student. But when the time comes, it hardly bothers him anymore: “I’m starting to get a little smell-dead.” Christian Büser spends a large part of his time in the greenhouse at the University of Hohenheim, where cannabis is grown.
While private individuals have been allowed to grow up to three plants at home since April of this year, Christian Büser is conducting scientific experiments with around 160 plants in Hohenheim. More than 400 more are growing at the university’s experimental station on the Ihinger Hof in Renningen (Böblingen district).
Christian Büser researches cannabis plants
If you ask Christian Büser what excites him about cannabis, he says: “With other plants, everything has already been researched in detail.” With cannabis, he experiments with different genetics, water and fertilizer – without knowing what will come out. The plant also has a high social relevance: in the treatment of diseases, as food or in the area of skin care. And it is also interesting because of global warming: Cannabis binds a relatively large amount of CO2.
There is only one effect that Hohenheim cannabis doesn’t have: it doesn’t intoxicate. “You can smoke it, but it doesn’t do any good,” says Büser. His hemp plants all have a THC content of less than 0.2 percent. THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol and is the main active ingredient when you smoke a joint and feel happier afterwards.
Research is being carried out on low-THC plants in Hohenheim. That’s why the greenhouse rooms in Hohenheim where cannabis grows are only secured by normal locks – not by reinforced concrete doors or anything similar. Because the focus is on the health-promoting substances; the so-called cannabinoids. These are sold, for example, as oil, cream or gel.
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Because of the ban, a lot of potential remained untapped
That is why little has changed for the researchers in Hohenheim as a result of partial legalization. Only new questions have arisen. “The law says that research should be made easier, but what does that mean?” asks Simone Graeff-Hönninger, Professor of Plant Production. If they wanted to research THC-rich plants for medicine, they would still have to submit an application, “but to which authority?” After all, the university is neither a private person nor a cannabis social club. “A lot is still unclear,” says the professor.
The scientists believe that because the use of cannabis plants has been prevented for a long time, a lot of potential has remained untapped. For example, drugs with THC could also help people with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or spasticity. “Why should something like this be banned while cancer patients are being pumped full of all sorts of things?” criticizes Christian Büser. “That defies all logic.”
Incidentally, many CBD products that you can buy in German shops are also “deep gray areas,” says Simone Graeff-Hönninger. Because hemp is still not permitted in the food sector in this country.
Doctoral student has a tip for all “hobby growers”.
Cannabis has been cultivated at the University of Hohenheim since 2018 and in a German-Canadian research network since 2019, which now has around 50 partners. These include many companies that have discovered the field of medicinal cannabis rich in phytocannabinoids. The network is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics.
And there is no shortage of young people who want to research in this area. “I am bombarded with inquiries,” says Simone Graeff-Hönninger. “It’s an exciting job market for students,” she says. Alumni from her field all quickly found jobs afterwards. “We need people who work with cannabis in a scientifically sound manner instead of growing it in the basement.”
At the end, Christian Büser has a tip for all “hobby growers”, i.e. people who now grow cannabis privately: “You will definitely destroy the plants if you water them too much.” Drought stress is usually not a problem, “ as long as you don’t completely grill the plant.” But too much water is definitely not a good idea.
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By Julia Bosch
