MJ catches up with Dr. Monica Vialpando
With your history with e-cigs and vaping industry are there any new developments or research about the safety of vaping cannabis vs. smoking it? All we hear is there isn't enough info yet to tell just how bad vaping can be down the road.
With more than ten years of experience in inhalation product development across the pharmaceutical, nicotine, and cannabis industries, I have a unique stance when it comes to vaping safety. There is a lot we do not fully understand, yet we can learn a lot from data and lessons in other industries. I was directly involved in the implementation of standards for e-cigarettes in the EU, and there are insights we can gain from that model, for example. I’ve had concerns regarding the safety of cannabis containing vape pens since entering the industry and have voiced these in my talks and to cannabis product execs. Most notably, the use of Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) as an ingredient in vape pens. Despite my warnings, no company has ever agreed to reformulate. Multiple factors make vaping very complex: variability in cannabis extract, formulation and hardware compatibility, hardware components, emissions, diluents, terpenes, and terpene concentrations, and the list goes on and on. As a result, they are complicated to characterize and understand. I am currently collaborating with Dr. Robert M. Strongin, a chemistry professor at Portland State University, to test the emissions from vape products across multiple scenarios. We’re also working together with a team of inhalation toxicologists to translate the emissions data to assess inhalation risk and safety limits. I will be writing a comprehensive article about this for the next issue of MJ Lifestyle. In the meantime, I encourage you to listen to Casually Baked, the podcast, where I dive into the vaping discussion on Potcast 106 with my bestie and cannabis lifestyle guide, Johanna Nuding.
Since we spoke; are there any updates with universal standardization? Is the American National Standards Institute still the best place where we can find the most current info?
The regulatory landscape involving cannabis moves so quickly that it's very challenging to keep up. What I do know is that the International Conference on Harmonization is an excellent source and theory to be applied to cannabis. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D37 on Cannabis are also making tremendous progress. As a company, Vialpando, LLC works closely with OrionGMP to ensure we are developing products that will meet upstream compliance across international requirements.
Are there new studies Vialpando LLC has been working on that our readers can get excited about?
The three main areas of our formulation background involve inhalation, topicals, and oral formulation technologies to improve dosing (i.e., fast-acting, more absorption). The collaboration previously mentioned with Professor Strongin at PSU satisfies the inhalation development arm. Our current topical research, in collaboration with Divios, the world’s first cannabis suncare brand, is one of VLLC’s most recent scientific discoveries. During the development of their sunscreen, I hypothesized that THC could improve UV protection which turned out to be correct. We demonstrated an increase in SPF, which opened the door to a slew of research and new product ideas. These new products in development will be natural, vegan-friendly, and reef safe - just like the current Divios suncare line we created. That’s all I can say for now! But find great educational content around ingredients and sunscreen safety at www.diviosnaturals.com Our on-going oral formulation research involved the evaluation of multiple technologies to improve the oral absorption of cannabinoids, i.e., how much and how quickly the cannabinoids are taken up. Cannabis extract is exceptionally diverse in its physical and chemical behavior, so each product should be developed as a fit-for-purpose formulation. No single technology can be applied to all product types or even within a product category (e.g., creams). We’ve developed powdered cannabinoids that are water-soluble and improve their handling, manufacturing, and stability. We’re evaluating multiple technologies and continuously evolving and improving. VLLC collaborates with two leading cannabis scientists, Markus Roggen, Ph.D., and Dr. Linda Klumpers, Ph.D. Markus is the CEO of Complex Biotech and specializes in extraction and building automated technology to speed up the research and discovery process. He can tailor the cannabinoids of interest as part of our formulation design. Linda is a clinical pharmacologist who founded Tomori Pharmacology and co-founded Verdient Science. She can assess the efficacy of the formulation so we can make better in vitro/in vivo (lab-to-living) correlations, ensure safety, and maximize product performance.
We've been following you since we met and it looks like you've been doing great things with some of our fav female-owned brands. Anything fun and exciting to share?
I’m fortunate to have worked with a lot of great women-led cannabis companies. As a female formulator, I see the need for more brands explicitly designed for women and marketed in a way that appeals to them. That said, I passionately continue creating products for women. VLLC is currently working with a new cannabis company to create a line of nutraceutical capsules. These vegan-friendly capsules are carefully crafted, combining synergistic doses of herbs, major and minor cannabinoids, and cannabis-derived terpenes to maximize the target performance for women. We’re spending a lot of time on process optimization to ensure not only an efficient product but also small capsule size, and a process that ensures a smooth scale up for future growth. It's always fun as a formulator to get creative freedom on a project. I hand-picked the attributes of the equipment currently being assembled in Italy for manufacturing the capsules. I’m incredibly excited for this rollout. Of course, quality takes time, but you can undoubtedly catch sneak peeks of our progress if you follow @vlp_lab on Instagram.
“As a female scientist, what I do in the lab can appear boring and unsexy to the naked eye. I appreciate MJ Lifestyle for allowing me to prove otherwise.”
Another VLLP project involves the development of an entire range of women’s wellness products for Nicole Fox, MPH, RD. Having spent over ten years as an integrative dietitian, health educator and author, Nicole is passionate about plant medicine. She is truly a cannabis industry pioneer in every sense of the word. From patient and plant advocacy, to cultivation, to dispensary owner and operator, Nicole has dedicated twenty years to plant medicine in California. VLLC is bringing all of Nicole’s experience to life for her new brand, Aeon Botanika. Opening in 2020, the West Hollywood dispensary of the same name is reclaiming the power of cannabis as a traditional wellness botanical to elevate health and happiness. Nicole is proving to be a wonderful muse for my formulation of her products. Her energy is full of light and unity. So it’s no surprise every scientist on my team wants to be a part of this project. We’re harnessing all of our excitement during this research and development phase of the Aeon Botanika line. I’m so excited for her future customers! I encourage you to get to know Nicole in issue III of MJ Lifestyle. And find out more about the project at Aeon Botanika.
I frequently collaborate with Johanna, founder of Casually Baked, an Oakland-based cannabis lifestyle and media company focusing on cannabis for wellness and responsible cannabis education. It’s an excellent opportunity to share research and practical shopping advice to cannabis consumers interested in the “highly responsible” lifestyle Casually Baked showcases.
Do you offer any apprenticeship programs? What type of applicant are you looking for?
As a Ph.D., it shouldn't be surprising that education means a great deal to me. I’m incredibly grateful for the internships and scholarships I received throughout school and my career. That's why I make a point to return the favor to both my field of science and the students who aspire to do what I do. I teach a two-week intensive cannabis formulation course at Loyalist College in Ontario, Canada. It is part of their 1-year post-graduate Applied Cannabis Research Program. VLLC brought on the top three students as interns, and one eventually joined the team. We’re continuously expanding so I’m always on the hunt for bright, young scientists focused on formulation and product development. And even cannabis enthusiasts with a sales background or mind for marketing. Ambition, mindfulness, and creativity are the three unteachable things I look for in all potential VLLC team members. As a yoga teacher, I genuinely believe that how somebody approaches their yoga practice can speak a lot to how they approach everyday life. So I'm known to bring people to a yoga class that nudges them out of their comfort zone :-)
Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
I spent 13 years of my adult life in Europe. I lived in Germany, Belgium, Italy, and the UK so consider myself in many ways half European. I'm active in the European Cannabis Industry since 2015 and plan to expand to The Netherlands in 2020. Amsterdam is an amazing city that I'm especially keen on because the European Medicines Agency (the FDA equivalent) just transitioned there from London. Due to differences in regulation, Vialpando LLC will have more access to research tools that are difficult to obtain in the US. Results from these studies will further fuel the efficacy and innovation of our products. I was fluent in Dutch just a few years ago and am slowly starting to lose it. I'm ready to be back and exercise those muscles while evolving the global cannabis industry.
Say ‘hello’ on Instagram and follow Monica @mon_vial
