Marijuana beer? Heavens forbid.
Beer legally brewed with medical marijuana may be light years away, but it would give the American IPA a whole new meaning, wouldn’t it? Already there are a few producers of “soda pot” around. Yep, the soft drinks are made with the “sacred grass”, not hemp. The company Canna Cola, located in Las Vegas (where else?) is among them. So far, their marijuana soft drinks with zany labels like Orange Kush, Sour Diesel, Grape Ape, and Doc Weed, can only be bought in states where medicinal marijuana is legal and by patients who have a prescription from their doctors.
At this stage, about 20 U.S. states have legalised medicinal marijuana. Forbes magazine reported recently that the U.S. medical marijuana market, worth USD 1.7 billion in 2011, could grow to USD 9 billion by 2016.
Medicinal marijuana is usually smoked. But there are patients who don’t like the harmful effects and stigma of smoking. It is for these people that soft drinks or energy drinks with marijuana have been developed.
In October 2013, the producer of energy drinks, Puget Technologies, announced that one of its subsidiaries, Cannabis Biotech, is initiating the development of a cannabis infused beverage line.
Earlier this year, the stock market-listed Puget Technologies entered the energy drink market with a line of energy drinks and shots. The cannabis-infused beverages will provide a refreshing, organic alternative for patients seeking relief from nausea, chronic pain, muscle spasms and other conditions, the company said. As with Canna Cola, buyers of these energy drinks will require doctors’ prescriptions.
