Currently browsing posts about: Cannabis

For your calendar tomorrow:

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I live in weed city.  Within walking distance of my Greenwich Village apartment are at least ten outlets selling CBD and Delta-8-THC edibles—gummy candies, baked goods, drinks, treats for cats and dogs.

The nearest one opened in mid-November near the 8th Street subway stop to great fanfare.

It did not last long.  Late in the afternoon of December 28, I saw several police in the store supervising the removal of products to large garbage bags on the floor —a raid.  The next day, the store looked like this.

As it turns out, the raid was no coincidence.  The very next afternoon, Housing Works Cannabis, New York State’s first licensed recreational marijuana store, opened half a block away.

What a scene!  The lines to get into it circled the entire block.

Once things settle down and I can get into the store, I will report on its edible selection and prices.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime for your amusement, here’s what the FDA says about CBD edibles.

It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food or labeling it as a dietary supplement.

To the question, “Can THC or CBD products be sold as dietary supplements?” the FDA has a simple answer: “No.”

How’s that for food politics!

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I learned about this from a newsletter I subscribe to, Dairy Reporter (this is why I subscribe).

Consumers can now taste a new cannabis-infused ice creams made by Boston’s Emack & Bolio’s in collaboration with cannabis operator MariMed.

The ice creams are vegan, no less.

Two vegan flavors – Cup O’ Coffee Chip and Chocolate Sunny Days – have already debuted, and a dairy line is arriving ‘in two weeks’, DairyReporter understands…“Our R&D team pays close attention to consumer trends and food categories that make sense to consider infusing with cannabis,”​ a MariMed spokesman said. “Ice cream has seen enormous growth, particularly craft ice cream.”

They are sold only in Massachusetts for now.​

“MariMed was looking to partner up with an ice cream company to develop products using their full spectrum cannabis oil and CBD,”​ Emack & Bolio’s founder Robert Rook told DairyReporter. “We both wanted great tasting product, with clean ingredients infused with the best full-spectrum cannabis oil.

Yum?

I tried to find ingredient lists for these products, but all I could find was a press release.

I wrote and asked for them.

Stay tuned.​

Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive component of marijuana, has made its way into the food supply in the form of CBD edibles, CBD water, and CBD pet and animal food.

The legal status of these products continues to be fraught with uncertainty, not least because CBD products sometimes contain the psychoactive components of marijuana hemp .  Some recent examples:

• FDA Warns Four Companies for Illegally Selling CBD Products Intended for Use in Food-Producing Animals. The companies include Haniel Concepts dba Free State Oils, Hope Botanicals, Plantacea LLC dba Kahm CBD and Kingdom Harvest. While the FDA does not know the current extent of CBD use in food-producing animals, the agency is taking steps regarding these unapproved and potentially unsafe products now to help protect animals and the safety of the food supply.
• Fruit snack or edible? Study finds some cannabis products look like popular snacks. Some cannabis edibles look remarkably like popular snack foods and may be easily confused for them, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.  These “copycat” edibles also have levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC—the main psychoactive compound in cannabis—that far exceed the limits set by state cannabis regulations.
• Majority of CBD products tested in [a German] study found to have at least some THC.  A new study that sampled dozens of commercially available CBD products found detectable THC levels in 64% of them. Some levels were high enough to approach therapeutic thresholds or to potentially trigger drug test failures….Read more
• [A Kentucky] Study: Many CBD products would trigger doping bans.  Almost a third of 23 tested CBD products contained traces of banned cannabinoids at levels that would have provoked doping infringements, according to a just-published study….Read more
• StatNews: THC ingestion by young kids highlights the need to tighten inadequate packaging regulations.  Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is finding its way into the hands and mouths of young children via products packaged and labeled in ways that bear striking resemblance to famous candy and other snack products known to appeal to children.
• CBD: The ultimate celebrity side hustleWhether they’re an investor, founder or spokesperson, public figures such as athletes and actors are benefitting from CBD’s therapeutic properties –and its ability to bring in the dough…. Read more

It’s not easy to track the food politics of Cannabis.  New edible and drinkable products are entering the market all the time, and the FDA still hasn’t gotten around to issueing regulations that anyone can understand.

I’ve been getting email PR for drinkables, for example:

• All-natural Wavze CBD Water Enhancers; CBD water is the new wave of consuming cannabinoids, made by infusing water with CBD particles. The water-soluble CBD plays into bioavailability, allowing the product to be absorbed more efficiently and adding versatility…Nanotechnology found in Wavze with particles as small as .01-100 nanometers, on the other hand, has proven to improve nutrient delivery…Available in three flavors – lemonade, coconut and lime, dragonfruit [in shot-size bottles]…Price: $25.00 (10mg squeeze bottle).
• CBD sauces:  These include things like Loud Grandma CBD Chili Crisp Oil, advertised as “a little fruity and funky…not crazy hot, but it packs a flavorful punch when used on leftover rice or spooned over scrambled eggs. Each teaspoon is a 10-milligram dose of CBD;” Potli’s CBD Feel Good Honey, “crafted with raw, wildflower honey harvested in California and infused with 10 milligrams of CBD per teaspoon…Maybe try it in a Gold Rush?; and Hot Sloth CBD Hot Sauce made with white miso paste, fermented plum, dragonfruit, habanero and 15 milligrams of CBD per teaspoon.
• CBD from orange peels: A different CBD story:  A new CBD made from orange peel could signal a breakthrough for the industry and offer access that was once unimaginable…. Read more

But the market may not be doing all that great.  Theft and fraud are major concerns:

• Does a drop in CBD sales signal dwindling consumer interest, or is it a classic ‘crossing the chasm’ moment?  With US retail sales of cannabidiol-infused foods, beverages and supplements declining sharply in the past year and some early-adopters souring on the ingredient after experiencing lackluster ‘results,’ some players in the space are discontinuing their CBD products or formulating new ones without it. 
  
•  Thieves are stealing California’s scarce water. Where’s it going? Illegal marijuana farms:  As drought grips most of California, water thefts have increased to record levels. Thieves tap into hydrants, pump water from rivers, and break into remote water stations and tanks.

So is lack of regulation

• The passage of the 2018 farm bill has created an unregulated THC market, and Congress is not rushing to fix it. FiveThirtyEight has more.

Mitch McConnell didn’t know what he was doing when he passed the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill included his provision that legalized industrial hemp, a form of cannabis that can be made into a wide variety of products including cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating cannabis compound commonly called CBD. That part was intentional — the law quickly launched a multi-billion dollar industry that put the once-obscure CBD compound into lattes, seltzers and hundreds of CVS stores across the country.  But after three years it appears one of the law’s biggest impacts was entirely unintentional: It accidentally created a booming market for synthetic THC, marijuana’s primary intoxicant.

The FDA is AWOL according to Politico.

The FDA’s original mission, in the words of acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, centered on “frustrating the sale of products peddled by frauds, charlatans, and careless companies.” But it isn’t doing that, and it hasn’t for a while now…when it comes to the non-prescription products that tens of millions of Americans buy every day — and which underlie a vast and growing industry — the agency is far less focused and effective, and in some cases, totally absent…the FDA’s failure to act is not only dangerous for consumers; it’s deeply damaging to the legitimate companies that are forced to compete with those that are reckless or worse.

Health Affairs, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, takes a serious look at CBD policies and the lack thereof.

• Cannabis Liberalization In The US: The Policy Landscape: State cannabis policies are inconsistent across jurisdictions and often conflict with federal policy. Policy makers should adopt an approach to cannabis liberalization that addresses these inconsistencies, improves the safety of cannabis supply, and combats health disparities and other inequities.
• Cannabis legalization In The US: Population Health Impacts:  Evidence regarding the effects of recreational cannabis legalization on public health is inconsistent. Future research should assess heterogeneous policy design, differential effects on population subgroups, and effects related to characteristics of legal cannabis supply.

I haven’t said much about unusual bottled waters since 2018 when I wrote about bottled ocean water.

2018 was also when I went on The Daily Show to be interviewed by Desi Lydic as the straitperson for her deep dive into “raw water” (surely, the funniest thing I’ve ever done).

Well, you can’t make up these things.

• Karma Water launches CBD Water:  Karma Water – a US brand which Constellation Brands has a minority stake in – has launched Karma CBD Water: the first such beverage in its wellness and probiotic waters beverage portfolio…. Read more
• Shine Water with Vitamin D: That this is about marketing more than health is evident from at least one review: “The brand messaging is where things go a little off track, slamming you with callouts and copy, trying to establish credibility for the drink’s functionality. These include a large green vitamin D callout, a Vitamin D Council “approved” logo, a “developed by physicians” logo, two mentions of their charitable intentions (5 percent of profits — a problem in that most startup beverage companies have zero or minimal profits for a while).
• Psychedelic Water: A friend who prefers to remain anonymous forwarded an e-mail from this company: “We would love to arrange an interview with you and the team of disruptors behind the launch of the first legal psychedelic, mild mood-boosting, hangover-free fun…Psychedelics have been touted in the media lately for the extreme benefits they have on mental health, depression, happiness, mood-stabilizing, and overall general well-being. Psychedelic Water works because it is the world’s first legal psychedelic blend of kava root, damiana leaf, and green tea A leaf extract for an experience like no other.

My only comment:  Really, there are better ways to get CBD, vitamin D, or even high if that’s what you are looking for.  Me?  I’m sticking to plain, ordinary drinking water, sometimes fizzed up a bit.

Everybody wants to get into CBD edibles.  They have the potential to make lots of money for lots of people.

Here are a few recent items.

CBD ice cream:  Way back in 2019, Ben and Jerry’s, always on the cutting edge, promised to move right in.  I haven’t seen any yet, but can’t wait.

CBD pet food: Martha Stewart, also ever ahead of the curve, is doing a new line of products.

CBD alcohol: Product names or descriptors such as ‘CBD gin’ or ‘rum infused with CBD’ could prove problematic in the UK, says the Portman Group, as it sets out guidance on marketing CBD…. Read more

CBD supplements: Rugby warriors tackle cannabinoid concerns with CBD startup:  Two professional rugby players have created a startup selling third-party tested CBD supplements that give elite athletes and everyday consumers peace of mind over cannabinoid content.. Read

CBD edible hazards: Four children needed hospital treatment in England after eating sweets thought to have contained cannabis. A 12-year-old boy was discharged on May 1 and the other three were expected to be released from hospital in Surrey after being kept in overnight for monitoring and observation.  Continue Reading

CBD hazard regulation (or lack thereof): CBD experts recommend THC limit for finished products.  CBD industry experts have put together a detailed safety review of THC recommending clear policy recommendations to cut market confusion… Read

Regulations are sure to come, and the sooner the better—for reasons of public safety, but also to give startups some guidelines.

I was intrigued by this Tweet:

Anyone would be confused.

And here are some news items:

• PBR cannabis-infused seltzer launches in California: Pabst Labs was granted the rights to create these drinks under the brand’s name. Each nonalcoholic beverage contains 5 milligrams of THC, 4 grams of sugar and 25 calories.
• Could 2021 be the breakout year for cannabis-infused food and beverages?  Although the pandemic slowed progress, the outlook is brighter as more companies enter the market and the regulatory environment has the potential to change.
• Study: Feeding cannabis treats to dogs does not affect their behavior, but may affect scratching: “…CBD reduced scratching compared with CON (P = 0.030). CBD did not affect the activity duration during exercise periods (P = 0.143). These results indicate that, when supplemented with up to 4.5 mg CBD/kg BW/day, CBD does not impact the daily activity of adult dogs, but may exert an antipruritic effect.”

I don’t follow cookbooks closely but was surprised to see Stained Page News’ account of an entire cookbook genre devoted to cooking with Cannabis.

I knew about Elise McDonough’s writings in High Times, but had not paid much attention to her Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook when it came out.  Stained Page News explains:

Author Elise McDonough is foundational to the modern cannabis cookbook space. A cannabis consumer since her teens, she eventually found herself working for the flagship subculture magazine High Times while taking classes at New York’s Natural Gourmet Institute. McDonough says that the magazine would field recipes from contributors, who often sent them in without photography, and they’d have to re-create the dish in order to print it. “That really got me into the idea of cooking with cannabis—learning a lot of techniques, an interest in food style and prop styling for photography, that got me started,” she said.

Here is SPN’s Guide to Cannabis Cookbooks

• The Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook by Elise McDonough and the Editors of High Times
• Brownie Mary’s Marijuana Cookbook
• Marijuana Cooking: Good Medicine Made Easy by Bliss Cameron and Veronica Green
• The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook by Robyn Griggs Lawrence
• Cooking With Herb: 75 Recipes For the Marley Natural Lifestyle by CI hedella Marley and Raquel Pelzel
• Bong Appetit by the Editors of Munchies
• The Art of Weed Butter by Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey
• The Art of Cooking with Cannabis: CBD and THC-Infused Recipes from Across America by Tracey Medeiros
• Edibles: Small Bites for the Modern Cannabis Kitchen by Stephanie Hua with Coreen Carroll
• Cannabis Drinks: Secrets to Crafting CBD and THC Beverages at Home by Jamie Evans

Disclaimer: I have never cooked from any of these and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the recipes or their quality.  But if you do cook from them,

• Keep the foods away from young children
• Stay home, don’t drive
• And follow this advice from those more in the know than I am