Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jul 2014
Source: Dayton Daily News (OH)
Copyright: 2014 Dayton Daily News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/7JXk4H3l
Website: http://www.daytondailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/120
Page: A8

MARIJUANA EDIBLES GROW

Cottage Industry Rises for Medical, Recreational Uses.

(AP) - Move over, pot brownies.

The proliferation of marijuana edibles for both medical and
recreational purposes is giving rise to a cottage industry of baked
goods, candies, infused oils, cookbooks and classes that promises a
slow burn as more states legalize the practice and awareness spreads
about the best ways to deliver the drug.

Edibles and infused products such as snack bars, olive oils and
tinctures popular with medical marijuana users have flourished into a
gourmet market of chocolate truffles, whoopie pies and hard candies as
Colorado and Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana in
the past year.

"You're seeing a lot of these types of products like cannabis
cookbooks," said Erik Altieri, spokesman for the National Organization
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "They've always been popular among a
subset of marijuana, but with the fact that more and more people from
the mainstream are able to consume, there's a lot more interest."

Many pot users turn to edibles because they don't like to inhale or
smell the smoke or just want variety. For many people who are sick or
in pain, controlled doses of edibles or tinctures can deliver a
longer-lasting therapeutic dose that doesn't give them the high.

And there's money to be made.

BlueKudu, in Denver, started producing marijuana chocolate bars for
medicinal purposes three years ago. Since recreational use became
legal this year in Colorado, owner Andrew Schrot said, the wholesale
business has more than doubled its sales from several hundred
chocolate bars sold a day through dispensaries to more than 1,000, at
$9 to $17 a piece.

"There seems to be quite a bit of intrigue about the infused products
from the general public and consumer, especially tourists," Schrot
said.

Cooking classes have sprung up. One in Denver - led by a chef who has
turned out chocolate-covered bacon and Swedish meatballs with a
marijuana-infused glaze - has grown so popular that it will be offered
every week in August. It's also part of a vacation package that
provides pot tourists with a stay at a cannabis-friendly hotel
(vaporizer and private smoke deck included), a visit to dispensaries
and growing operations, and the cooking class.

Students are advised not to smoke before they come to class because
there's a lot to learn about the dosing and they will be sampling
foods along the way.

"By the end of the class, everybody's pretty stoned," said founder
J.J. Walker.

Mountain High Suckers in Denver sells lollipops and lozenges for
medical marijuana users and plans to release treats for recreational
users at the end of August. The company hopes they will take off.

"People are turning the corner and making lots of money in the rec
department, and we expect to almost double the business in a year,"
said Chad Tribble, co-owner of Mountain High Suckers in Denver.

High Times, a 40-yearold monthly magazine based in New York, has
always featured a cooking column with a recipe. At least 40,000 people
attended its Cannabis Cup in Denver in April, a sort of trade show
that includes judging of marijuana edibles, said editor-inchief Chris
Simunek.

"Like everything else in marijuana at the moment, it's sort of
experiencing a renaissance where the more people get interested, the
more experiments they do with it," Simunek said.

The magazine said its "Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook" is the
top-selling title of the five it offers.

It's not just a hobby or business; there's a science
involved.

THC, marijuana's psychoactive chemical, must be smoked or heated - as
in cooked - to be activated. When ingested rather than inhaled, it
provides a longer-lasting and often more intense feeling.

Users of pot edibles, such as cookies, are often advised to eat only a
portion so they don't get too high. Education about proper dosing has
become a priority after at least one death and a handful of hospital
visits were linked to consuming too much of an edible.
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MAP posted-by: Matt