Minnesota-grown Katelyn Faith could be most CBD-rich medical cannabis

OTSEGO, Minn. (KMSP) - One of Minnesota’s medical cannabis producers says it has developed a new strain of the plant that is 34 times more potent than typical medical-grade cannabis. Minnesota Medical Solutions has named the strain "Katelyn Faith" in memory of Katelyn Faith Pauling, an 8-year-old girl from Montevideo, Minn. who died from complications of Battens Disease less than 4 months before Minnesota’s medical cannabis law took effect.

Independent lab analysis of the Katelyn Faith strain found a CBD-to-THC ratio of 34-to-1, trumping the 20-to-1 ratio of Colorado’s “Charlotte’s Web” strain featured in the CNN documentary “Weed.” Cannabis typically sold for medical use has a ratio of about 1-to-1.

While THC is responsible for most of marijuana's intoxicating effects, CBD has little to no intoxicating effects. Higher concentrations of CBD are desired in medical cannabis strains for the compound’s use as an anti-seizure and anti-inflammatory treatment.

MinnMed believes the new Katelyn Faith strain could be the most CBD-intensive plant in the world. The plant was developed at the company’s Otsego, Minn. greenhouse, and cannot be shipped to patients outside of Minnesota due to state and federal restrictions.

MinnMed CEO Dr. Kyle Kingsley believes the development of this CBD-rich strain will eventually lower the cost of medical cannabis in Minnesota.