Even with cannabis 2.0 easing into the rear view mirror, it’s worth paying attention to several new and noteworthy cannabis products.

Among the more innovative products to gain traction recently are the zero-waste carbon filters from the Toronto-based startup Blade Filters. Carbon filters are often used in grow rooms to eliminate odours and harmful organic compounds.

The three founders—Giancarlo Sessa, Aedan Fida and Joseph Fida—all recent graduates, have developed replaceable carbon cartridges for grow rooms as opposed to the current solution of replacing the entire filter.

The trio started the company two years ago after winning three stages of Ryerson University’s Norman Esch Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards, and raising about $43,000 in grants.

“The main reason we got into cannabis is because we knew that using carbon filters had long been a common practice in the industry,” said Sessa. “The joke in the industry is that cannabis isn’t green and we’re trying to change that one filter at a time.”

First, Blade Filters uses pelletized carbon, which ensures a more even airflow and more equal exhaustion of the carbon. The shells are made from stainless steel, the end caps of aluminum, while the cartridge itself is made from cold-rolled steel.

Sessa claimed the company can save its customers 30 percent on costs with an 87 percent faster filter replacement time. It also collects the used carbon to donate to companies and charities, as well as collects the used metal for recycling.

With about 12 licensed producers on board, coupled with international patents and a new wave of cannabis consumables upon us, Sessa said the potential use for the filters doesn’t end with grow rooms. “Our filters are going to be used anywhere there’s live cannabis,” he suggested. “Growing, extraction, it’s part of that whole value chain there.”

Advancing smart growth at home

But Sessa and the Fida brothers aren’t the only university graduates with a new and exciting piece of tech. Frank Qin, a Western university computer science graduate, is the founder and CEO of Mary AG, a smart and automated grower for the home.

Looking like Elon Musk’s idea of a grow box, Mary has 12 sensors, an app, multi-directional lighting for optimal growing, pre-packaged and species-specific nutrients, and built-in carbon filters and air conditioning.

Speaking prior to Oct. 17, “there’s this pre-legalization mentality that it’s not something you can talk about proudly or show off to your friends and family, and we wanted to help destigmatize that image so we developed this product that can be a centerpiece in your living room,” said Qin. “You don’t have to hide it anymore.”

The idea for Mary first came to Qin after designing an irrigated flowerpot, and the company began manufacturing this January. It is designed by Qin and his team and their manufacturing partners produce the parts necessary, which are then shipped back to Toronto and assembled by the company.

Qin said that the company has received interest from cannabis investors and those outside the industry, although he is not at liberty to specify. Like Blade Filters, he also sees the potential for a wider application of Mary in the future.

“Right now, we really are the automated farm startup; we’re applying our core tech to a consumer product,” said Qin. “Our second phase is applying this tech to larger-scale operations.”

Keeping cannabis safe and secure

Another of these new technologies, child-proof cannabis storage, may seem relatively benign, but could also serve to further destigmatize the industry. So said Tychon Packaging Inc. president Kevin Kantati, whose slider bags, vape cartridge containers, jars for dry flower cannabis and droppers for tinctures all comply with federal regulations.

“I think the market was looking for something that was as compliant and cost-effective as possible. There’s stuff out there that’s maybe too much packaging for what’s involved,” said Kantati. “A pouch is the cheapest way to do it, we follow the child-resistant protocol.”

Two out of the four bags are biodegradable as well.

Tychon is currently partnered with two licensed producers who utilize their bags, Mynt Cannabis Dispensary in Nevada and Evolvd Oregon. Tychon also utilizes re-salers who sell the bags to dispensaries in Las Vegas, Oregon and Florida.

The packaging was developed in Leamington, Ont. at Tychon’s headquarters, 20 minutes away from Tecumseh, Ont., where the first child-proof cap was developed by Dr. Henri J. Breault in 1967.