In a letter, lawmakers explained that the DEA failed to recognize the clear legislative intent of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The hemp industry is not the only one that’s pushing back against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s hemp Interim Final Rule (the “Rule”). If you read this blog, you’ll recall the hemp industry sued the DEA following the release of its Rule in August 2020. The Rule threatens the hemp industry because it wrongfully criminalizes the extraction process of hemp into derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids, which is a critical component of all hemp-derived products. It seems Congress takes issue with the DEA Hemp Rule.
Last week, nine members of Congress issued a letter to the DEA’s Acting Administrator, Timothy Shea, to express their concerns regarding the Rule.
In their letter, the lawmakers explained having received countless calls from hemp constituents who are extremely fearful that conducting lawful activities under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (‘the “2018 Farm Bill”) will result in criminal liability under the Rule.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp along with its derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids. In order to extract these lawful plant materials from hemp, the hemp plant must go through an extraction process. Accordingly, it logically follows that the 2018 Farm Bill also legalized the processing of hemp into such derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids.
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Despite this logical inference, the lawmakers explained, the DEA failed to recognize this nuance, along with the clear legislative intent of the 2018 Farm Bill, when it drafted the Rule that states:
“any such material that contains greater than 0.3% of Δ9-THC on a dry weight basis remains controlled in schedule I.”
Moreover, the nine lawmakers argue that the Rule fails to acknowledge the well-known fact that the process by which hemp is extracted into derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids can, and almost always, results in increased delta-9 THC levels, even if the finished hemp product meets the lawful THC threshold imposed under federal law. This, the letter provides, means that, pursuant to the Rule, extracting hemp may cause hemp processors to temporarily possess a controlled substance, which would clearly violate the legislative intent of the 2018 Farm Bill.
In light of these issues, the lawmakers asked that the Rule be revised to (1) be consistent with the letter and intent of the 2018 Farm Bill, (2) eliminate all ambiguities regarding the legality of intermediary hemp, but also (3) protect a nascent, flourishing economy. Indeed, the letter explains that:
“[t]he hemp industry in the United States is estimated to be worth approximately $10.3 billion by 2024, increasing from $1.2 billion in 2019. This industry is capable of incredible growth and is a source of immense livelihood for Americans, all of which is at risk under the [Rule]’s interpretation.”
The letter was submitted on October 20, which marked the last day public comments concerning the Rule could be accepted. It now remains to be seen whether the DEA will take into consideration these recommendations as it proceeds with the formal adoption of the Rule. However, given the recent lawsuit brought forth against the DEA and its Rule, the agency may not get to proceed with the rule making process. Indeed, if the United States District Court for the District of Columbia were to grant the hemp industry an injunctive relief, the DEA would be prevented from enforcing and revising the Rule until the court hears the case, which may not be for another year.
Technology can greatly benefit us during this next round of isolation and pandemic fatigue. Here’s how.
Technology is more pervasive than ever. Even if we wanted to, the pandemic has forced us all to use more of our electronic devices to stay connected — not only to our work, but to our friends, family, and sources of entertainment.
Now that winter is coming and COVID-19 cases are surging across the country, it’s expected that most of us will spend more time at home. This isn’t a great recipe for mental health and it’s important for us to get creative and make the most of this situation. This time around, lockdown measures will feel more difficult to comply with and it’ll be an ongoing struggle to battle the pandemic fatigue that’s affecting us all.
Here are 5 ways in which you can use technology for your mental health:
Pick up the phone
We’ve all used our fair share of Zoom over the past several months. What was at first new and exciting is now cumbersome. No one is into Zoom happy hour anymore. While you might be sick of seeing a dozen faces on your computer screen, it might help to introduce a simple change of pace, like phone calls. These allow you to walk around, do the dishes, organize your bedroom, all the while still having conversations with other people, whether they’re work related or for fun.
While we’re all video chatting more, it helps to use different apps for work and entertainment. Using Zoom for both meetings and social phone calls can get tedious. It also helps to look for different ways of connecting with others, like Kast, which allows you to stream Netflix with friends in different places.
Follow stuff that makes you happy
The news is inescapable. If you want to look for something that makes you happy, like cat videos or cooking videos, you’re gonna have to make the effort to look for them. Try following art accounts and those that give you helpful mental health advice. You can start with these 10 Instagram Accounts To Boost Your Mental Health.
Having an office setup is important for different reasons. This set up will help you get more work done and it will also solidify a difference between fun and work. When taking calls from friends and family, try to move out of your office space or even use your phone. Use your computer for work phone and video chats. While this sounds a bit strict, it can help you transition in and out of work mode more easily. Another thing you can implement is a space where no phones or computers are allowed, allowing you to recharge. This space doesn’t have to be too big or have a door, it can simply be your bed.
Download an app that cultivates a hobby
Whether you’re following Instagram accounts for crochet and bullet journals, or you’re using an app that tracks your running progress, look into your options and try to explore technology in different ways. These apps can help you feel connected to something you like and remind you to invest sometime in your hobby of choice.
The fast and friendly movement of cannabis over the last few years has reeled in a lot of first-timers, many of them senior citizens, who don’t think of themselves as stoners.
Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cheech and Chong in Up in Smoke. The Dude in The Big Lebowski. They’re all lovable stoner characters.
This country’s version of the stoner guy has been pushed out to millions of viewers and movie goers for years. They are society’s misfits, fun-loving “soft” criminals good for a few laughs who all “used” marijuana to mess up their minds and derail their lives.
That was Hollywood back then. But even today, it pushes out versions of the stoner guy through shows like The Big Bang Theory (“Space Cookies”) or Roseanne (“A Stash from the Past”), with episodes where the main characters either intentionally or accidentally get stoned.
The “high” they experienced in these episodes, as created by the writers, was exceptionally dramatic — overly dramatic in fact, depicted as more of an “out of body” tripping experience — which was probably done that way just so network censors would be okay with the message: “Hey kids, don’t do drugs. Look what can happen.”
Widely seen movies and TV shows like those that depict what it’s like to get high are not intended to have any real educational purpose. These fictional misrepresentations are supposed to be nothing more than just entertainment.
But those shows do continue to reinforce the misguided narrative that cannabis is an evil drug that destroys minds and creates unnatural desires — an old and tired trope about cannabis that hasn’t changed in nearly 100 years, since the Reefer Madness movie and the reign of the racist anti-marijuana first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (the precursor to the Drug Enforcement Administration), Harry Anslinger.
But all that fictional fact-free fluff is now bumping up against the reality that you, your buddy, your sister, your mom and dad, your dog, the esteemed college professor grading your term paper and, yes, even your grandparents, all have access to. They could all be actually “doing” different forms of CBD and cannabis right now. Today. Legally and daily.
BDS Analytics, a cannabis industry analytics and intelligence company, reported that nearly one-quarter of American adults are now cannabis consumers, with 29% of them admitting that they consumed cannabis in the past six months.
So guess what? It’s no big deal anymore if you admit to getting high. Sure, it can be a bit dicey to do that in a workplace setting because there are still plenty of companies (and federal businesses) in this country that have no-tolerance drug policies.
They are policies that generally mean any marijuana detected in your urine or blood gets you fired — but any prescribed poisonous and addictive opioids in your system are okay with those same policy guys, and any alcohol in your system is just a wink-and-nod don’t do it again sort of thing. Hey, what’s the problem with a narcotized drifty employee or a red-eyed beer-buzzed coworker making nice and showing up to (fake it through) work every day?
The fast and friendly movement of cannabis over the last few years has reeled in a lot of first-timers, many of them senior citizens, who don’t think of themselves as stoners even as they reach over to their bedside table to take a hit off a vape pen loaded with their preferred sativa strain before going to sleep.
Photo by rawpixel.com
Now this new group of today’s Spicolis or Dudes have questions about consuming cannabis correctly: What cannabis should I use to make sure I don’t get too high (low THC/high CBD)? What should I use if I don’t want to smoke but be discreet (topicals, tinctures, edibles)? I hear edibles are great but they take too long to have an effect. What about that? (There is a line of edibles with an effect that comes on in 5 minutes or less, or you can choose microdose edibles with 5 milligrams of THC in them.)
In short, cannabis manufacturers have been responding more quickly to the new cannabis consumer — the new stoner — with updates to their products that will make consuming cannabis just another thing you do either before going out, while you are out, sipping a THC-infused beverage at a bar, laying in bed reading, or doing just about anything anywhere at any time (except driving).
Of course all of this forward-thinking marketing and directed product development about another intoxicating substance continues to drive the anti-marijuana crowd into a frenzy. The increased consumption of cannabis today is confusing to them because it poses questions that they find difficult to address: If cannabis is so bad for people, why are more business people and high-dollar investors getting involved in it? If cannabis is so bad, why are people using it for relief of serious medical conditions like epilepsy? Or even more to the point: If cannabis is so bad for people, why have humans been consuming it for at least 6,000 years?
These are good questions that lawmakers, and anti-marijuana groups, are finding harder and harder to answer because, well, the facts and the science are stacked against them. And the twinkle in grandma’s eyes are sure proof that she’s in on it today too because it helps her through her day, rules and laws be damned.
Today’s stoner — that’s you, probably, if you are reading this — is practically a new demographic of its own that crosses over-21 age groups and occupations.
Today’s stoner is more and more free to talk about cannabis than even five years ago, because now 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of recreational and/or medical cannabis, with four more states coming.
The stigma discussion, the gateway theory, is now just some old white guy’s way of trying to impede the progress of a new cash-crop industry — an industry that is expected to generate nearly $47 billion in revenue worldwide by 2025.
Today’s stoner doesn’t have to ask permission or beg forgiveness.
For years, the cannabis consumers have been suit-and-tie guys, down-to-earth moms and dads, productive citizens of the country no matter how the media has tried to portray them. It’s just that now, amidst the overwhelming changes in state laws (including dozens of state cannabis policy reform bills), and more bills to help legalize cannabis now in Congress than ever before, today’s new cannabis consumers are peeking out of the shadows and promoting cannabis consumption for fun, as medicine, or as just an additional intoxicating substance for social lubrication.
And Hollywood? There’s actually a sort of subgroup of stoners of Hollywood celebrities. Being a stoner has been given the thumbs-up cool-crowd approval. Getting high is just another element of story-telling in a lot of Hollywood movies—and, well, in any Seth Rogen movie.
The main way that cannabis acts differently in women as opposed to men is its interaction with the female production of estrogen.
For decades, the cannabis movement has been predominantly a boy’s club. Women are rising up and earning leadership positions all over the industry now, but where did that original disconnect come from? Could it be the way that marijuana affects men and women in different ways?
From voting on measures to cultivating the plant, women are crucial to the success of the cannabis industry and are now leading the way into its next evolution. While balance is being restored, however, having the knowledge of how cannabis affects people when sex is the main equation is important, not only for valuable information, but for direction in the ever more detailed world of weed.
The main way that cannabis acts differently in women as opposed to men is its interaction with the female production of estrogen. In a study conducted by Washington State University, researchers found that estrogen is like a magnifying glass for THC and so it may take less cannabis to elevate a woman, especially in the days prior to her ovulation. This is a very good thing for gals who toke, as cannabis is one of the best remedies for period pains, mood swings and other discomforts.
Photo by McKinsey via rawpixel.com
On the other hand, in the same study, it was found that the ladies build up tolerance to marijuana faster than their male counterparts, meaning that even with estrogen boosts, they may need an extra pull off the joint for the desired outcome. Another finding in popular studies is that cannabis, a known aphrodisiac, is more effective in women than men, at least in higher THC strains.
Men are more susceptible to getting the bedroom jitters when super high and performance anxiety can beyond kill the mood. While some studies show that women should choose strains with lower THC counts as well, others show that pretty much any amount of THC is a sexual stimulant for women.
In another study, published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, researchers found that marijuana affected visuospatial memory more in women than in men, but non-cannabis related studies also suggest that men have an advantage in this type of memory that revolves around object perception and spatial relations. The study also pointed out that women have been grossly underrepresented in pot studies.
The overarching truth of the matter is that listening to your mind and body and imbibing to your own satisfaction or limits is a very personal thing, no matter man or woman. Just do you and limit the amount of influence you take on from how much your friends or your partner are using. Cannabis is fun, but it’s medicine, too, and knowing and respecting your own limits is part of the experience.
With these simple tips, winter should find your lips happy, healthy and ready for whatever comes at them.
Autumn is here and there is chill in the air. Wearing a mask hides your lips, but it won’t keep them healthy as harsh winter weather takes a toil.
“It’s true, the use of masks can leave our lips dry. This winter say hi to hydration and kiss your chapped lips goodbye,” shares celebrity makeup artist Troy Lazaris.
Drink plenty of water
Summer heat can be rough and dehydrating, but winter and cold can be just as brutal on luscious lips. Doctors recommend 6-8 glasses of water a day. Not only for healthy lips, water boosts energy by delivering important nutrients to all of your cells, especially muscle cells. It also helps weight loss by making you feel full longer, preventing additional calories. And, helps your body naturally detoxify.
Don’t peel or bite off dry skin
Photo by Matthew Henry via Burst
Peeling that annoying flap only makes your chapped lips worse. As tempting as it is to quickly remove the offense flakes, it causes bleeding and pain along with slowing the healing process. Hands off should be the right motto.
Only use products with nourishing ingredients
According to Glamour, lips are the second most important facial feature, so show them some TLC. After the eyes, most people focus on the lips, and it important to keep them nourished with products that add to their natural help.
Míage’s BLOOM La Milpa Lip Treatment stick is a healing nectar for your lips; a multifunctional waterless gloss that works double-time as a high-glow daily conditioning lip gloss and as an overnight lip treatment. Their farm-to-skin ethos is combined with scientific precision. Their system is effortless, non-invasive, and inexpensive. It is a perfect way protect your lips from harsh weather. Míage’s hydrating waterless solution delivers petal-soft lips ready for any moment.
While it feels great at the moment, licking your lips only helps to dry them out. When you lick, you coat them saliva, which are full of enzymes that are harsh and cause them to feel drier and more uncomfortable
Nip cold sores and fever blisters in the bud
Like eye drops, lip medicinal products are meant to be used only when you have a significant problem, not just when your lips are chapped. Experts advise starting the application as soon as a sore erupts.
With these simple tips, winter should find your lips happy, healthy and ready for whatever comes at them.
Even though it’s not fully understood, what you eat can have an impact on how you feel, including your anxiety levels.
While we all experience anxiety from time to time, each of us with our own personal triggers, anxiety can build up in our bodies and manifest in unexpected ways. It’s all valid, from having an embarrassing freakout with friends for no apparent reason, to eating most of the contents in our fridge without noticing that anything’s off.
While we all know stress eating is a thing, can food help us manage our anxiety? There’s a clear link between anxiety and our stomachs, with our stomachs usually being one of the first parts in our bodies that signal our brains that we’re feeling anxious. When stressed out, it’s common to experience a change in our diets, whether that’s a lack of appetite, too much appetite or feeling nauseous.
Health and nutrition educator Jodi Godfrey, MS, RD, spoke to Psycom and explained a bit more about this link. “Researchers now refer to the gut as the second brain. When essential nutrients are not sufficiently available, there is a direct effect on the production of neurotransmitters and brain chemistry that can increase or lessen anxiety-related behaviors.”
Photo by Thought Catalog via Unsplash
She says that switching up your diet can have a positive outcome on your anxiety and that this change shouldn’t be as daunting as some make it out to be. “The most important and simple dietary change for anyone who has anxiety is to plan meals around whole foods, lowering or eliminating the number of processed foods including sweets and snack food.”
There’s no clear explanation for the connection between anxiety and stress, but like most mental health conditions, a healthy diet and a regular sleep schedule can produce significant benefits. When it comes to the foods people should eat, The Huffington Post spoke to several experts who recommend foods that contain nutrients like zinc, magnesium, vitamin B, and fatty acids. These experts recommend having these foods for breakfast, that way you’re able to set the tone for the rest of your day.
Photo by Brooke Lark via Unsplash
Foods like avocados, eggs, yogurt and salmon are simple foods that are filling and that can be incorporated into a variety of breakfast dishes. These foods contain healthy fats, oils and proteins. When used properly and not paired with heavy foods, they’ll leave you feeling satisfied and not bloated, which is a feeling that is often associated with anxiety.
Elections are stressful; it’s okay if you’re losing your mind a bit. Here are some normal emotions you might be experiencing.
We’re less than a week away from the elections. While our circumstances are overwhelming and just plain weird, a mixture of emotions and feelings is inevitable. Elections are always stressful, but this year they’re contributing to an already tense climate.
This entire year has been one unexpected event after another. By the time we’re getting used to the overall malaise, something seems to suddenly happen, and we get new spikes of stress. There’s few things we can do to prepare ourselves for these changes, but it helps to accept your feelings as they come. It’s okay if you’re having trouble sleeping or spend most of your hours glued to the news. It’s okay if you can’t stand to look at your social media feed.
Here are 5 common feelings you might be experiencing ahead of the election:
Overwhelmed
If you’re not feeling overwhelmed right now then you have some exceptional coping mechanisms. We’re living under a constant barrage of change and stressors, from far off situations like global warming to near ones, like the loss of our jobs and the closure of thousands of businesses. Your body can process these feelings by making you feel more tired than usual, perhaps making you feel like you can’t tolerate everyday life stressors. When feeling overwhelmed, it’s good to create some boundaries between you and the source of your stress, whether that’s COVID or the elections. Be open with your friends and family and don’t resist the urge to mute some topics on social media.
Presidential debates and ads are stressful, both of these being particularly vicious this year. The world tends to reduce these situations and transform them simply to black and white, which can leave you feeling very disturbed. Feeling stressed out is completely natural. What you can do to make this better is to be open with the people in your life, to talk out your feelings, whether you’re having a conversation or journaling on your own. Try your best to stay in the present.
Optimism
It’s also okay to feel like you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Voting is a kind of happy and festive occasion, especially when you see others mobilizing and working towards some bigger change. Try to avoid people who are feeling negative, encouraging them to vote but avoiding contaminating yourself with their energy, and also let everyone process their emotions by themselves. No one knows what’s going to happen until it happens.
Another coping method is to distract yourself with whatever is in front of you, thus, stopping your brain from screaming “election panic” every 5 minutes. Distraction is pretty useful right now, especially since this is a short term thing that’s meant to end soon (hopefully). While you shouldn’t shut down your feelings, now’s the time when you should be the most understanding with yourself. It’s okay to binge on some Netflix if you’re still completing work and staying relatively healthy.
You’re looking forward to November 4th
What most people are feeling is probably the need for this whole thing to be over and to be done with the uncertainty. Come election night, be sure to take care of yourself and surround yourself with a support system. Meditate a bit ahead of time and have some good food at the ready. While it’s impossible to plan for something that hasn’t yet happened, you can make your life a little easier by encouraging some self care.
Your eating habits have likely fluctuated over the past months. Here’s how you can get back to normal.
Changes in routine can affect our lives, no matter how small or insignificant they seem. The pandemic, a change that’s the polar opposite of small, is bound to affect your health in ways both obvious and imperceptible. Your sleeping and eating habits might be some of the most simple changes to keep track of.
Even if you’ve been trying harder than usual to leave your house and enjoy fresh air, the unlimited access to your fridge and pantry might have left a quarantine imprint on your life. You might not fit into your jeans anymore or might find their fabric a little weird now that you don’t wear them as often. It’s okay. There are ways of getting back to normal.
Unbalanced food habits affect much more than our waistlines. These changes can be our body’s response to anxiety, and can be messing with your mental health and making you feel bad about yourself. Whether you’ve been eating less, more, or just different, it’s important to do some thinking and try to approximate your eating routines to something closer to healthy.
Food plays a huge role in our lives. We use it to celebrate, to curb boredom and to eat our feelings. By keeping an eye on your food habits you’ll get a snapshot of your health and mental state. Here are some tips that can help get your eating back to normal:
Lunch breaks used to signal when it was time to go out for food and a walk. Working from home makes everything more muddled, but we’re still capable of setting up parameters to adhere to, like a start time, a lunch break and an end to work. While this schedule doesn’t need to be rigorous, it helps to stick to it as best as you can. This way, you won’t forget that you need to eat.
When planning out your week, account for the time you’ll spend cooking or ordering in your food. These small acts can help you have a better grasp of your day and will likely result in more productive work weeks.
Cook more
While most of us got into a habit of cooking more during the pandemic, it’s been seven months and people get bored of cooking and doing the dishes. If you’ve lost your cooking steam, try to get back into it by making it more fun. Look for recipes online, purchase a cookbook or subscribe to an app that provides you with good and simple recipes. This can all help get you excited about cooking.
It’s unrealistic to think that you’ll be joyfully cooking three meals a day for seven days a week. When you order in, be conscious about what you put in your body. This doesn’t mean that you can’t order burgers or pasta periodically, but it does mean that if you’re ordering in several times a week, a couple of these orders can have some veggies and greens that will make you feel good in the long run.
Limit your snacking
It’s very difficult to not snack on stuff if it’s within your reach. Instead of constantly testing your self-control, avoid buying snacks, at least for a period of time. Once you’ve built up a bit of tolerance, buy a limited amount of them, including some healthy options, and have them when you feel like it. Try to avoid snacking while watching TV or working, since this can distract you and facilitate binging episodes and anxiety eating.
Infused cannabis beverage makers are still addressing and experimenting with taste and dosing issues, and progress has been steady. But there is still a sense that all is not ready to go… just yet.
Non-alcoholic beer infused with CBD or THC sounds like a good plan. A natural fit. A new sort of buzz that doesn’t put you under the table, drooling as you slip into a moment of blanking out. It’s a more user friendlier intoxicant.
But there are a number of obstacles to overcome with cannabis-infused beverages, including taste, how much and what kind of CBD or THC to infuse, and consumer education about drinking these new cannabis products amid a mind-numbing onslaught of more and more cannabis products that clutter the shelves of most dispensaries.
Consumers know infused beverages as a sort of beer replacement product that does what beer does, only different.
The non-alcohol brewed beer infusion product represents a newly developing forum that has had a few rushes to market, some fits and resets. But overall it still looks viable. It still seems bankable.
Investors, big beverage companies, and startups instantly saw the opportunity for a new product that just may appeal to a consumer tired of just getting drunk, and dealing with the hangover, but still liked the buzz.
They have gone to work. But the last couple of years have not been kind to some, and have harpooned their ambitious cannabis infused product plans.
One of the world’s biggest beer breweries, Belgium-based Anheuser -Busch InBev, with over 630 brands globally, jumped at a chance to get into the cannabis business through a $100 million joint venture with major cannabis producer, Tilray, in December, 2018.
Then Tilray hit the skids, and is still struggling to survive, reporting a $81.7 million loss in the second quarter of 2020, essentially putting a kink in the InBev plan.
The other big non-alcohol cannabis infused beer player is Constellation Brands, makers of Corona and Modelo beer brands, investing $4 billion and taking 56 percent ownership in a deal with the other major cannabis producer Canopy Growth in 2017—and, in the process, becoming one of the first alcohol companies to partner with a cannabis company.
Then Canopy Growth stumbled as well over the last two years, losing its CEO Bruce Linton last July after it revealed a $300 million fourth quarter loss.
Like Tilray, Canopy Growth appears to be recovering slightly today.
And rumors about Constellation getting out of their deal with Canopy swirled around the cannabis community late last year. But that noise has since abated and Constellation moved on—months after Linton’s departure, and with a new CEO, Canopy got their license in November, 2019, to begin production of their cannabis beverages.
Photo courtesy of Lagunitas Brewing Company
They began rolling out CBD-infused beverages in March, 2020. In an August 2020 earnings call, Canopy Growth’s new CEO David Klein said that its product line of cannabis beverages has accounted for 74 percent of all ready-to-drink cannabis beverages sold in Canada. “We’re on track to expand our market leadership in beverages,” Klein said.
Constellation just doubled down on its investment in Canopy. “While global legalization of cannabis is still in its infancy, we continue to believe the long-term opportunity in this evolving market is substantial,” Constellation Chief Executive Officer Bill Newlands said in a press release.
The latest news about progress in cannabis infused beer comes from hemp and cannabis infusion technology company Vertosa, teaming up with Pabst Labs, which is a newly formed licensed cannabis company making Pabst Blue Ribbon Cannabis Infused Seltzer. That cannabis infused beer beverage is now available in a select group of California dispensaries.
Vertosa has been the cannabis and hemp infusion partner for other infused brands, including VitaCoco, Calexo, Lagunitas Hi-Fi Hops, Viv & Oak wine, and Soul Grind cold brew by Caliva.
The infusion technology has been difficult to perfect, but is getting better.
One of the companies that does the delicate job of extracting and replacing alcohol with cannabis for both beer and wine is BevZero, working with its sister company, Conetech.
Conetech has designed a specially developed low temperature vacuum technology that enables the creation of lower alcohol or totally non-alcoholic versions of most craft beers without affecting the taste of the original brew.
So what does all this mean to the cannabis consumer?
After early amateur tinkering with the cannabis drink infusion concept, there was a “back to the drawing board” pause in the action until about 2017. Infused cannabis beverage makers are still addressing and experimenting with taste and dosing issues, and progress has been steady. But there is a sense that all is not ready to go just yet.
Photo via goodhempinc/Instagram
Enjoying these infused drinks in an acceptable social setting is another issue. Can they be sold like any other beer at, say, your neighborhood bar? Seems logical, but not likely.
Many state laws have regulations about this possibility, such as California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), which says that it is OK for someone to own a license for cultivation and selling cannabis, and a license to sell liquor. But liquor and cannabis in any form can’t be sold at the same location.
Meanwhile, combination cannabis and alcohol bar concepts have been drawn up in anticipation of a hoped-for change to come, designed with doors between the alcohol-only bar and the cannabis infused beverage bar as a way to create an enforceable space separation.
But these plans are basically on hold until regulators, industry advocates and business owners figure out what to do next.
Still, there are tempting developments that may chip away at any obstacles. The first official cannabis consumption restaurant, Lowell Cafe, opened in West Hollywood last October to record business, further confounding what can and can’t be sold in a cannabis-themed restaurant.
And the smaller breweries are taking a stab at the cannabis infused non-alcoholic beer market on their own, including Ceria Brewing in Arvada, Colorado and brewmaster Keith Villa, the only man with a doctorate in brewing from Belgium.
Villa created the popular and fast-selling Blue Moon.
Photo by Robert Mathews via Unsplash
Ceria launched their first product, Grainwave, in December, 2018, which is a Belgian-style white ale like Blue Moon, carefully replacing the alcohol with 5 mg of THC. They launched their second product, Indiewave IPA, later, again removing the alcohol, this time replacing it with 10 mg of THC plus 10 mg of CBD.
The company has looked into infusion of higher levels of THC, but 10 mg is the maximum amount allowed by the state for any consumable cannabis product.
Ceria worked on the premise that the effects of the 5 mg of THC infused in the beer comes on in 10 to 20 minutes—meaning just about the time you are finishing one beer, and drinking a second, you begin to feel the effects of the first.
Bottom line is that it’s a challenging business proposition as both craft brewers and Big Alcohol are finding out. And there is no real proof of a developed market yet, no real promising figures of pent-up demand for these infused drinks.
Yes, CBD infused beverages are on the rise in Europe, according to one study, which are mostly carbonated drinks and teas, fruit juices and sparkling waters—not something that you would associate with a bar. But since these products are intoxicants, they may help to sort of lay the groundwork for more beer-based infusions to come.
And there appears to be some momentum behind infused beverages of late. For example, as of September 2017, there were 107 cannabis beverage brands available at dispensaries in Colorado, Arizona, California and Oregon, according to BDS Analytics, a cannabis industry analytics and business intelligence company. BDS also predicted this would be a $1 billion market by 2022.
In any event, economic conditions now are not great for rolling out a product such as a non-alcohol, new-buzz, infused cannabis drink that may either catch fire or fail because there are so many unknowns, and so many consumer preferences to track and measure.
But putting a good buzz on that doesn’t get you so drunk you can’t talk may be just the ticket to a different level of conscious fun at the bar. And that’s something we can all celebrate.
Edibles can be intimidating if you don’t know what to look for. Here are some basics you should know before visiting a dispensary.
The world of edibles can be overwhelming for those who have no previous experience with them. There are all types and dosages available, not to mention their reputation for bad highs. It’s natural to step into a dispensary and turn away from edibles, choosing something more approachable, something you have more experience with that doesn’t have the potential to keep you couch-locked.
Despite this, a large percentage of cannabis users enjoy edibles, so much so that they choose them over all other methods of consumption. Edibles are healthier than vaping and smoking (at least for your lungs), and are capable of producing stronger results. They’re likely to provide more pain relief and a stronger response from your mind and body.
Still, these facts don’t make edibles any less intimidating, especially if you don’t know what’s in them and how they work. Here are some of the basics you should know, but first, make sure you understand Why You Need To Be Careful Using Edibles The First Time.
Edible makers can infuse their foods with marijuana through a variety of ways, primarily with cannabutter and extracts. Cannabutter is the product that results once butter or oil is infused with cannabis. This mixture is then used to make brownies, chocolates, etc.. Cannabutter includes the benefits and limitations of the whole cannabis flower, providing you with the full spectrum of cannabinoids. This means that there’s THC, CBD, and more in these types of edibles but also that they’re more unpredictable.
Edibles made with extracts are more targeted. Producers can isolate THC or CBD in a lab and later add them to their products, making something that is more reliable and consistent. Edibles prepared with extracts are a good option for people who are looking for a specific effect.
This all depends on the edible, but for the most part, edibles prepared with extracts tend to have less of a weedy flavor than those that are made with cannabutter. In order to be sure, you should ask your budtender and get a full breakdown of their products. Also, a lot of people enjoy that weedy flavor in edibles, so don’t be afraid of it.
While buying edibles is the easiest choice to make, especially if you’re a newbie, preparing edibles is a fun experience, one that can be done alone or with others. When preparing them yourself, it’s important to find a recipe and to stick to it, keeping in mind that cannabis must be decarboxylated and that the entire process will likely take you some time.
It’s also important to have patience and to know that you’ll be consuming cannabis through your stomach, which results in a delayed response. The best advice you’ll get is to pace yourself and to avoid eating more if you’re not feeling high yet, because you will.
