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Marijuana Drinks: Infusing Cannabis with Wine, Teas and More
Introduction to Marijuana Cannabis Drinks
The ways that you can ingest marijuana are plentiful. You can smoke it, vape it, eat it, and yes, even enjoy a marijuana drink it.
That is what we gather here to discuss today: cannabis drinks. And trust us, learning about this interesting sub-niche in the world of marijuana is going to be just as much fun as it sounds.
How big is the marijuana cannabis drink market?
The marijuana drinks market is probably bigger than you would guess. In fact, it is projected to be worth $600 million over the next several years.
Where can you buy marijuana drinks and wine?
It sounds good, right? So where can you go to incorporate some marijuana drinks into your life? The answer can vary greatly depending on where you live.
For example, if you live in Washington state, you might be able to go just down the street and head on over to the dispensary of your choice. If you live in Illinois, well, you are out of luck. You’ll have to take a weed vacation to Colorado or California just to get a sip.
In other words, it depends on the laws of your community. Marijuana is becoming increasingly more normalized by our legal system with each year that passes, but there are still kinks. One of them is that each community has its own rules.
Even if you are living in a community with legal recreational or medical marijuana, access to cannabis drinks may vary.
What do these cannabis-infused drinks taste like?
So, what do marijuana drinks taste like? Well, it really depends on the drink. Truly, it could taste like almost anything.
The answer to that is mostly going to depend on what you are drinking. But if what you want to know is if it will taste like marijuana, the answer is that it doesn’t necessarily have to.
Wine and Weed
Wine and weed sound like the makings for a lovely Friday night, doesn’t it? Weed and wine are a natural combination and now they are more combined than ever. Let’s explore this wonderful pairing a little bit, shall we?
How long have people been mixing wine and weed?
Cannabis and wine have both been around for recreational use for quite some time. People have also been enjoying them simultaneously for many years, with marijuana in one hand, and a nice chianti in the other.
But when did the bud find its way into the drink? It looks like the combination is quite a bit older than you might guess. In fact, there is a history of cannabis-infused wine being used in religious and meditative practices that stretch back centuries.
In modern times, weed and wine are still being used to get in touch with your higher self, though not with the same degree of formality that the practice used to have. Still, if you do want to pick up some cannabis-infused wine, it turns out that you will be carrying on a longstanding tradition!
Now, in California, you can even get weed and wine tours that will allow you to survey the regions rich offerings of both bud and grappa.
Though not a religious pairing anymore, weed-infused wine still has a strong future ahead of it.
Cannabis Wine
Now that you know a little bit about the history of the pairing of wine and weed, let’s talk cannabis wine.
Infusing Cannabis and Marijuana into Wine
Marijuana wine is, of course, made through an infusion process. The process is actually somewhat similar to how you might make tea. The cannabis is first decarbed to restructure the molecules to promote the psychoactive effect of THC.
This is done through the application of heat. The marijuana is then transferred into a material that will allow it to slowly seep into the wine.
Let’s now take a look at the different types of cannabis wine that you might expect to encounter.
Cannavines
Cannavines is a company that makes canna wines, as it were. It’s a play on words but you get the point. They specialize in wines that are derived from cannabis.
Their main ingredients are actually terpenes and CBD. CBD wine is going to have all of the benefits of CBD (which we will discuss a little bit later) mixed with all the fun of wine. Which you are probably already aware of.
The nice thing about CBD infused wine is that it enjoys somewhat broad legality.
Hemp Wine
The legality of marijuana-infused wine is a little bit complicated. The legality of hemp infused wine is not so complicated. To put the matter in perspective for you hemp wine is being manufactured in Texas, a state that has some of the most complicated cannabis laws in the country.
But hemp also isn’t marijuana. It’s a cousin plant, and it has a wide range of applications.
Hemp wine does not contain any THC and will therefore not have the same psychoactive effect as marijuana wine.
CBD Wine
CBD is also non-psychoactive, but it does contain very small amounts of THC. To be clear, the levels of THC in CBD wine are so small that they won’t show up on a drug test.
CBD is however associated with promoting a feeling of relaxation. It also has lots of other potential health benefits.
THC Wine
THC wine is probably what came to your mind in the first place when we first started talking about cannabis grappa. THC is the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant, which means, of course, that it will have the intended recreational effect when paired with wine.
Non-Alcoholic Marijuana Wine
Non-alcoholic wine is exactly what it sounds like. It may sound a little bit paradoxical to take out the alcohol and add THC or CBD but this approach is definitely the most legally uncomplicated way to get marijuana-infused wine.
Sparkling Cannabis Wine
A lot of people call sparkling wine champagne. It all depends on the region the bottle comes from. Regardless of what you call it, the beverage will be carbonated and sweet. But then again, you will probably be more focused on the THC compared to the bubblies.
Other Types of Marijuana Drinks
There are also other types of marijuana drinks to keep in mind. Let’s take a look.
Marijuana Tea
Marijuana tea is a classic combo. There are companies that make this product, and methods for going about doing it yourself.
The combination is fairly natural, really. Tea is, after all, just dried leaves in hot water. You can get cannabis tea in just about any flavor you can think of.
Marijuana Elixirs
Sounds like a fun potion almost doesn’t it? Not exactly something that you would find in a Harry Potter book though.
Dixie Elixirs is a company that has really taken a keen focus on this niche. They specialize in balms, lotions, and a variety of other wellness treatment products.
There actually are proven benefits to using cannabis in this way. For example, elements of marijuana can be very good for your skin.
Cannabis Soda
You aren’t going to see Coca-Cola rolling out cannabis soda anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a tasty, bud infused drink.
Tinley and Legal Sodas are both companies that focus on making tasty, marijuana sodas. The flavors are about as diverse as you could imagine. You get traditional soda tastes, and also fun options, like alcohol-free margaritas.
Cannabis Coffee and Cold Brew
Coffee and cannabis are another classic pairing. Mixing stimulants with relaxers is a little bit controversial insofar as the fact that you just never know exactly what will happen. Coffee and cannabis might be relaxing, or it might be overly stimulating.
Either way, you are free to roll the dice as you like. Marijuana-infused coffee is available in both traditional and cold brew.
CBD Infused Drinks
CBD is THC’s sober cousin. There are actually loads of proven health benefits for CBD that could have a bright future in the world of medicine. Let’s explore the world of CBD drinks, shall we?
What makes CBD drinks different than THC?
CBD or cannabidiol is not a psychoactive substance. It won’t get you high, but it will allow you to enjoy a lot of the other benefits of marijuana. It can reduce anxiety, treat inflammation, and possibly even slow the growth of cancer cells.
Legality of mixing CBD into drinks
CBD is actually legal in all fifty states. However, each state is able to make their own rules. For example, there are some states where CBD is only legal if it derived from a hemp plant.
Still, CBD infused drinks will be more broadly available than the marijuana alternative.
Marijuana Alcohol Rules and Regulations
This is where things get a little bit complicated. Cannabis and alcohol are both federally controlled substances, and while alcohol is legal on a federal level, cannabis is not.
This makes the legality of weed-infused alcohol very tricky.
Let’s try and break it down.
Marijuana-infused alcohol rules
So here is the situation. Marijuana cannot be sold on the same premises as alcohol. Here are a couple of quotes that explain this.
Let’s look at what wine industry adviser explains about the subject:
“First, since cannabis cannot be sold in the same premises as alcoholic beverages, any product that contains both cannabis and beverage alcohol cannot be sold at premises licensed with either an ABC license or a MAUCRSA license.”
However as Forbes pointed out, there is a small degree of wiggle room.
“Because it includes THC, the wine cannot be sold through normal distribution and retail channels licensed to handle alcohol; but because the alcohol has been removed, the wine can be sold through licensed California THC dispensaries, which right now includes one each in San Diego, Los Angeles and Long Beach. But there may be a more important reason for removing the alcohol.”
In other words, you can have THC in a non-alcoholic drink or alcohol in a non-THC infused drink, but never the two shall meet. At least not as the issue currently stands.
If you would like a really in-depth explanation, here is a video that breaks it down.
California Marijuana Drink Regulations
California really laid down the law regarding weed-infused alcohol recently. The state recently published an explanation that cannabis pubs and marijuana-infused alcohol would remain illegal.
Can cannabis-infused alcohol be served anywhere?
The short answer is, no. For as long as pubs and THC remain separated by the justice department, you won’t be able to get served a drink that combines the two in public.
State representatives are making simply declaring that it is again federal law and they intend to follow it.
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