An interview with Deron Caplan, PhD Deron Caplan, PhD, is a cannabis cultivation scientist and Senior Consultant at Sostanza. With a research background in horticulture and more than a decade of experience optimizing cannabis production systems worldwide, Deron has developed data-driven nutrition programs for facilities across Canada, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. His work bridges academic research and commercial cultivation, legal support—turning years of trial data

Insights from Philipp Matzneller, PhD - Co-founder and senior consultant at Sostanza Philipp Matzneller, PhD, is a commercial horticulture scientist, expert witness and Co-founder & Senior Consultant at Sostanza. He adapts proven greenhouse methods and data-driven EC/pH/VPD control into practical cannabis SOPs that improve uniformity, consistency, and yield. If I put it in one sentence: cannabis cultivation can benefit from adopting precision horticulture principles from the

An interview with Deron Caplan, PhD Deron Caplan, PhD, is a cannabis cultivation scientist and Senior Consultant at Sostanza. He builds SOPs, R&D programs, and KPI frameworks that help teams reproduce results at scale—from propagation to post-harvest—bridging academic rigor with real-world production. He also serves as an expert witness in cannabis-related regulatory, legal, and arbitration matters. Has cannabis really shifted from “secrets and intuition” to data and document

An interview with Deron Caplan, PhD Deron Caplan, PhD, is a cannabis cultivation scientist and Senior Consultant at Sostanza. He advises operators in North America, Europe, and Asia on facility design, cost-per-gram modeling, and production systems that scale without sacrificing quality. His vantage point across many markets shapes his view of a global “reset” toward operational discipline. Is there really a “reset”—and what does it look like on the ground? Deron: Yes. The in

An interview with Deron Caplan, PhD Deron Caplan, PhD, is a cannabis cultivation scientist and Senior Consultant at Sostanza. With experience designing high-performance production systems across the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Latin America, he specializes in integrating lighting, environmental control, and crop physiology into repeatable, data-driven cultivation strategies. Deron shares his perspective on lighting design for commercial indoor cultivation. From PPFD t

Written by Juan Gutierrez Juan Gutierrez is a Co-founder and Senior Consultant at Sostanza, bringing over a decade of global experience in the cannabis industry. He holds a BSc in horticulture and has a deep knowledge of commercial plant production, facility operation, and team management. Before Sostanza, he was the Director of Cultivation at MedReleaf and later led assessment and improvement programs for Aurora Cannabis's cultivation facilities worldwide. Example of Cashflo

Juan and Philipp at the Hollymood facility with their head grower Bart. Juan Gutierrez is a Co-founder and Senior Consultant at Sostanza, bringing over a decade of global experience in the cannabis industry. He holds a BSc in horticulture and has a deep knowledge of commercial plant production, facility operation, and team management. Before Sostanza, he was the Director of Cultivation at MedReleaf and later led assessment and improvement programs for Aurora Cannabis's cultiv

Shot of one of the flowering rooms at Blossom Juan Gutierrez is a Co-founder and Senior Consultant at Sostanza, bringing over a decade of global experience in the cannabis industry. He holds a BSc in horticulture and has a deep knowledge of commercial plant production, facility operation, and team management. Before Sostanza, he was the Director of Cultivation at MedReleaf and later led assessment and improvement programs for Aurora Cannabis's cultivation facilities worldwide

Deron Caplan, one of the first researchers to earn a PhD in indoor cannabis cultivation, shares his journey. He explains how his passion for systems design merged with plant science, creating a career that focuses on building efficient, high-precision HVAC, irrigation, and fertigation systems to empower growers globally.