[Canniseur: “Cannahoney”, not an infused product, could have therapeutic qualities. How do you train bees to harvest only cannabis pollen? If the bees are only gathering pollen from the males, which has almost no THC, how do they get THC containing resin into the honey? Is Mr. Trainerbees a bee whisperer?]
French beekeeper Nicolas Trainerbees (a nickname) is passionate about nature and has self-medicated with cannabis since a very early age. After training bees to collect sugar from fruits rather than flowers, he turned his attention toward the cannabis plant to merge his passions.
In 2006, he began training bees to collect the resin from cannabis plants and use them in the beehive to create what he has dubbed “cannahoney”. The honey contains terpenes and other cannabis features that add a “delicious and pleasant taste” reminiscent of the cannabis plant.
“For some time I had known about the health benefits of bee products such as honey, propolis, pollen, wax and royal jelly and also about the benefits of cannabis,” he says. For instance, the resin from willows, poplars and other trees is turned into propolis by bees, which has antiseptic, antibiotic, anti fungal and antibacterial properties.
He reasoned that bees using the resin from cannabis could similarly turn it into something that could be useful from a health standpoint — something different than the typical cannabis-infused honey that has already permeated many markets.
Since his original experiment, Nicolas’ project has grown to 30 beehives in a country that continues to enforce strict cannabis laws. His goal is to move out of France and into Spain to legally treat his illness and work with professionals in the space interested in his work.
As for the bees, they aren’t affected by cannabinoids because they do not have an endocannabinoid system like humans.
