Prof. Max Jones appeared in a Jan. 2 CTV News story about Canadian universities and colleges that are legally growing cannabis for scientific research.

Jones, a professor of plant agriculture at U of G, recently received a research licence to grow cannabis in vitro. He’s developing propagation methods and tools that will help optimize greenhouse growing conditions.

Currently, he is not permitted to grow plants to maturity, but he hopes to eventually acquire a pertinent cultivation licence. With Canada’s newly legal cannabis industry, Jones aims to offer students hands-on research training for potential employment opportunities.

His research includes developing methods to conserve endangered plants, introducing novel, vegetatively propagated crops, and developing tools for genetic improvement and breeding programs.