Jeff Adams, Founder and Managing Director of XRPure – Interview Series

As the yields of cannabis harvests increase exponentially, the demand for the harvested products becomes greater, and more and more cultivators are attempting to work with machinery and technology that ensures the cleanliness and safety of their products. However, the usage of these harvesting and cleaning technologies is not without some concerns from consumers. For a better understanding of the possibilities of these technologies and those concerns above, mycannabis.com had the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Adams, Founder and Managing Director of XRPure.

So what subjects surrounding mechanical engineering did you primarily study at MIT, and how did those lessons eventually assist you in your role with XRPure?

My research at MIT focused on manufacturing and automated assembly lines.  That experience led me into electronics manufacturing and eventually to producing X-ray devices.  Those experiences have been invaluable as we created a machine that blends electronic controls and safety systems with cutting edge X-ray technology.  One foot in the mechanical world and the other in the electronic world has been a great combination for building automated equipment such as the XR-12 and XR-16.

 Prior to founding XRPure, what roles in mechanical engineering did you hold and for what companies? Even if they weren’t cannabis affiliated, how did those roles prepare you for founding XRPure?
Before XRPure, I spent nearly three decades in technology, specifically in electronics manufacturing and in the medical and industrial X-ray space. I held a range of positions: process engineering, quality management, operations leadership, M&A, sales, and general management. Even though I wasn’t in cannabis at the time, those experiences helped me understand how to build highly regulated equipment, manage teams, and develop new technologies from idea to product.

What were the deciding factors and moments in the creation of XRPure? Did you have any previous experience in cannabis technology?
Leading up to XRPure, I was working with medical X-ray equipment designed to help patients by creating better medical X-ray images. Helping vulnerable cancer patients who were suffering was very inspiring.

Around the same time, I became interested in cannabis as medicine when I met someone with a severe case of epilepsy. He told me how cannabis use helped with his illness and helped to prevent his episodes. The plant really changed his entire life, and hearing his story totally changed my perspective on cannabis from something that’s just used recreationally to an important plant that really has medicinal value and can help people’s lives. That got me interested in how I can take my background in medical technology to help make cannabis as safe as possible for medical patients to use.

I realized that X-ray technology was perfectly positioned to address this safety challenge. I didn’t come from cannabis originally, but our team at Varex recognized we could leverage decades of X-ray experience to address it in a way that cleaned cannabis for consumers while also protecting the product’s integrity. And along the way, we brought on highly skilled and knowledgeable individuals from the legacy market, including our Sales Manager, Joseph Bancheri. 

 In layman’s terms, how do the XRPure machines utilize X-ray technology to decontaminate cannabis flower while making sure that the product is still safe for consumption?

Think of it like a highly controlled light treatment. X-rays pass through the flower for a very short time and disrupt the DNA of microbes that could be harmful to consumers. It’s calibrated in a way that doesn’t generate heat or radiation residue, so the flower itself stays untouched and safe, while the harmful bacteria and mold are rendered inert.

Additionally, we believe XRPure’s tech to be a cut above because of our machines’ speed and reliability. The speed comes from the fact that we use a very powerful X-ray tube that is two to three times more powerful than any others that are out on the market – it’s a 12-kilowatt tube. And our latest machine, the XR16, utilizes a 16-kilowatt tube, which can decontaminate cannabis faster and more efficiently than any other single tube system out there that I’ve encountered. One X-ray tube means less parts in the system and leads to higher reliability. In terms of reliability, we’ve designed an extremely easy to use system. Our decontamination machines are simple, reliable and consistent for growers to use. Operating them is like turning on a microwave or washing machine

In the recent 500-person survey that XRPure conducted, only about a quarter of respondents said they were knowledgeable about machines such as XRPure’s machinery. Where do these misunderstandings and concerns regarding X-ray technology in cannabis decontamination mainly come from?

A lot of it comes from the word “X-ray” itself. People tend to think of medical imaging or radiation exposure, which triggers their concerns. Plus, most consumers simply haven’t been educated on how post-harvest processes work in cannabis, so the idea of any sort of technology being applied to the flower can feel unfamiliar or even worrisome. But our survey was also encouraging, with over 90 percent of folks responding that they believe medical cannabis should be decontaminated and more than half saying that they’d be more likely to purchase decontaminated cannabis flower, while only 15 percent said they’d be less likely to. Thus the survey disproves the idea that people don’t want to buy decontaminated flower.

As the founder of XRPure, how would you address and quell those concerns that the respondents and other cannabis consumers hold when it comes to the usage of x-ray technology?

Transparency is key. I’d simply explain that X-rays have been safely used in food and medical device sterilization for decades. Our systems are fully contained, tested, and comply with the safety standards set not only by each state we operate in, but by standards around the globe, as we’re working to expand internationally. Most importantly, we encourage third-party lab testing so customers can see for themselves that not only are microbial contaminants killed, for a nearly 100 percent pass rate, but the potency and terpene profiles of the plant remain unchanged.

If certain state markets begin requiring cannabis brands to specify that they’ve been decontaminated with X-ray technology, how do you think that would impact the sales of those products? Would consumers feel safer buying these products, or would an adverse reaction happen instead?

I think consumers will ultimately feel more confident and trust products more when they know there’s a proven, science-based process behind the safety. It will require public education at first, but as people start to see “X-ray decontaminated” as a badge of safety (similar to pasteurization in milk), it could actually boost sales.

As a mechanical engineer and someone with an extensive career in X-ray technology, why is it monumental that a nearly 80-year-old company such as Varex is getting involved in cannabis manufacturing technology like the XRPure machines?

It shows how far the cannabis industry has come and really legitimizes a market that is hopefully on the road to reclassification and federal legalization. For a global, decades-old company like Varex to invest in this space means there’s a real need for scalable, high-quality technology in cannabis, and to ensure the plant is safe as medicine as an adult-use product. It also brings decades of FDA standard institutional expertise and quality controls into cannabis manufacturing, which ultimately benefits both operators and consumers.

 What inspired you to go back to school and receive your MBA at Brigham Young University? How do you feel the MBA program at BYU further strengthened your management and business ownership skills?  

At the time that I went back to school, I already had many decades of technical, management, and operational experience. I wanted to boost my skills in finance and executive management to put me on a more entrepreneurial path in my career.  The opportunity to start and grow XRpure has been a privilege and a great use of those newly acquired skills.    

How do you see X-ray technology for cannabis decontamination, such as XRPure’s machinery, evolving in the future? Would this technology be more utilized in cannabis post-harvest processes or not so much?

I believe X-ray will become a standard step in the post-harvest process, especially as regulations continue to tighten and consumers become more safety-focused. Cannabis is moving toward FDA regulation and oversight.  Proven technologies like X-ray decontamination will be key to help growers consistently meet strict quality and potency regulations.

Beyond that, we’re exploring other opportunities for our X-ray technology. Irradiation is used in a lot of different industries, including for produce that’s being imported into the U.S. This technology is very applicable to these sectors. Another interesting application we’ve been working on recently is that you can use X-ray irradiation to erase certain kinds of memory chips. So while our roots are in cannabis and we want to continue to develop and innovate for this industry, we’re also open to branching out. 

Thank you for joining us, Jeff! For more information on XRPure and its technology, please visit its website.