With pot retailers set to open their doors in Seattle this July, entrepreneurial weedsmiths are currently scrambling to forge innovative ways to get totally baked.
In a stroke of genius, Longview, WA’s Adam Stites has combined the two substances PNW folk love the most—marijuana and coffee. The coyly named “Legal” brand beverage line packs 20 mg of THC into a discretely designed bottle of cold brew coffee, an invention that might give Stumptown a run for its money.
“We call it a wake and bake high” Stites explains. The caffeine gives you a body buzz that makes you alert, while the sativa strain infused in the coffee gives you a heady high. According to Stites, his pot-coffee might be the first of its kind.
“I don’t think there’s anyone else out there doing cold brew with cannabis,” Stites says. “It’s certainly not like you show up with an eighth and a cup of Starbucks, there are various extraction methods and levels of refinement we go through in the process.”
Mirth Provisions, the company Stites is selling the “Legal” drink under, will also be peddling cannabis infused sodas with different flavors and effects. The Rainier Cherry for instance, will give you a head high, while the Lemon Ginger is designed for a “couch, meet butt” effect. The hope is that the average person might feel more comfortable sipping on a pot-drink than smoking a doobie.
“You know, I imagine being with my parents at a picnic,” says Stites. “I wouldn’t want to say, ‘hey mom and dad, want to smoke a joint?’ But they would probably be much more inclined to drink a soda or a coffee with me just like you might drink a beer or some wine. Or if you are outside at a music festival, this is a much more discrete way to get high.”
Mirth Provisions is currently on the final round of approval from the Liquor Control Board, but Stites expects things to move smoothly. Stites has contacted the retailers approved in last week’s pot-lottery, and has already established a rapport with a number of interested future storefronts looking to get “Legal” in their inventories.
“If everything goes smoothly, which it looks like they will, expect to pick some up come the first week of July,” Stites says.
