You may have already heard the exciting news: cannabis infused drinks are all the rage! When I started researching the options, I was quickly inundated with advertisements for various infused beverage options: there are hundreds on the market right now! This is good news as these drinks are a convenient and healthy option for wellness enthusiasts, those of us watching our waistlines and anyone who wants to cut back on alcohol.
In addition to being a healthy alternative, infused beverages are also a way to introduce cannabis to new consumers who may have reservations about more traditional forms of consumption such as inhalation or edibles. Cannabis drinks feel more familiar since they resemble commonly consumed beverages. Take, for example, the hard seltzers that have gained popularity over the last few years.
Infused drinks offer habitual users a way to participate in social settings with their preferred feeling that’s not alcohol. Often cannabis users are singled out at social events because their love of cannabis isn’t as socially acceptable and they have a hard time discreetly using it. Cannabis users deserve to be able to kick back at a party, concert or any social event and not feel judged.
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO ALCOHOL
Nutritionally speaking, alcohol negatively impacts our health. You may have experienced some of these including poor sleep, hangovers, gastrointestinal distress, cravings and weight gain.
If you’re health conscious it’s important to know how alcohol prevents your body from losing weight, triggers unhealthy eating habits and leads to greater risk of hypertension and diabetes. Additionally, it lowers our inhibitions which challenges our healthy decision making.
Most of the options seem to have fewer than 25 calories per drink. This alone cuts down on calorie consumption compared to alcohol. But the real benefit is in how our bodies process the drinks.
When we drink alcohol our body identifies it as a poison and prioritizes all of its resources trying to get rid of the poison. Since our body is prioritizing that, metabolizing the food we’ve eaten becomes secondary. Additionally, alcohol itself tends to have at least 100 calories per serving. If you drink light beer and think it’s not too bad, beware of the fact that alcohol lowers our inhibitions and increases our cravings, making us more likely to make unhealthy food choices.
If you were to swap out that White Claw with a cannabis infused seltzer, even if you were to willfully indulge in some snacks, you’ll still be able to efficiently metabolize those treats while consuming fewer calories overall.
TYPES OF DRINKS
The growing popularity means that options are abundant! As I write this article, I’m sipping a CBD(the non-psychoactive component) seltzer with 20mg of CBD and 10mg of CBG. It’s a crisp lime flavor with no hint of cannabis taste. There’s no buzz because it does not contain THC and I’m enjoying the relaxing effects of CBD with the focus and energy from the CBG.
Cannabis infused beverages offer a wide variety of combinations, including CBD, THC, CBG, and CBN, providing consumers with numerous options to choose from. Due to legal requirements, infused drinks sold online have THC content below a specific threshold, making them technically microdosed. This implies that consuming just 2mg at a time makes it less likely to overindulge and helps ensure a controlled experience.
If you’re new to cannabis, it’s recommended to begin with a CBD drink or a THC drink that has a higher ratio of CBD to THC. For instance, consider choosing an option with 10 mg of CBD and 5 mg of THC, resulting in a CBD to THC ratio of 2:1 or higher CBD content. When CBD is combined with THC, it helps mitigate the psychoactive effects of THC. Therefore, in the case of a 2:1 CBD to THC ratio, the intensity of the “high” sensation will be reduced.
If you have more experience with cannabis, you might consider opting for a THC drink with a higher THC to CBD ratio. Some commonly observed ratios include 5mg THC to 2.5 mg CBD or 10 mg THC to 5mg CBD, which provide a more intense buzz. Alternatively, a ratio of 5 mg THC to 5mg CBD offers a balanced ratio, resulting in less psychoactivity.
Note: please remember everyone responds differently to cannabis.
Brands I’ve tried include: Aryloom, Happi, High Rise, and Weed Water. In addition to seltzers there are teas, powdered or liquid beverage enhancers, energy drinks, colas, coffees and more.
Another stand out feature of the drinks is the ability to go “low and slow”, sipping the drink to microdose more effectively. This involves consuming small amounts at a time, allowing the drink to last longer and providing a more controlled and prolonged experience.
SELECTING THE RIGHT DRINK FOR YOU
This process is similar to selecting any packaged edible product, like a gummy. First you want to look for the desired effect (buzz or no buzz) and then any symptoms you want to manage such as pain, insomnia, stress, anxiety, or just kick back and have fun.
From there, choose the type of beverage you’re interested in such as a seltzer, juice, powdered drink enhancer, coffee product, energy drink or even beverages with a cocktail like flair.
Look for products that offer a COA (Certificate of Analysis) and information about the strains used when processing. It appears that most products don’t share the cannabis strains used in processing but will advertise the effects felt like sleep, focus, calm, or stress relief specifically to help with your selection.
Not being aware of the strains used is a significant drawback for those of us who are interested in knowing the specific terpenes we consume. While the seltzer I’m trying provides a Certificate of Analysis (COA) on their website, it does not specify the strains involved in the processing. As a result, we are unable to choose a drink based on the terpenes present, which is a valuable aspect of having more detailed information. I highly recommend considering this approach whenever possible. One of the reasons cannabis enthusiasts enjoy inhaling cannabis is because it allows us to identify the terpenes that offer the most benefits and select cannabis varieties that contain those specific terpenes.
Right now cannabis drinks are new and we’re at the mercy of the manufacturer, hoping they’ve selected great strains to produce their product, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more terpene information in the future!
MORE BENEFITS
In addition to less inebriation, fewer calories, and better metabolism, cannabis infused drinks offer all of the health benefits of cannabis such as: pain relief, anxiety reduction, better quality sleep, better muscle recovery, focus, energy, and clarity.
Pro tip: if you’re experimenting, make notes of how you feel during and after each product so you can remember how it affected you.
When cannabis is ingested in liquid form, its onset time is faster because the blood vessels in the mouth have the ability to absorb it more rapidly compared to the time it takes for cannabis to travel through the entire digestive tract. This can make a beverage more enticing than an edible because an edible is going to take up to an hour or more to feel effects whereas the beverage will kick in after 15-20 minutes and keep entering your bloodstream as you sip it.
More good news: infused beverages are legal to ship to most states, making them more widely available to those who don’t live in an adult-use state.
The growing popularity means that choices abound! This is exciting in terms of fitness and nutrition because there’s an option for everyone, for every situation, won’t impact our weight management or our desire to go to the gym in the morning!
Cannabis infused drinks offer the perfect alternative to alcohol for a buzz without the negative side effects. In fact, a recent poll suggested that 35% of Americans are trying to drink less alcohol. Expect more to come!
If you’re interested in more personalized or want to explore further, feel free to reach out to me directly at Beth@Cannafitnessnutrition.com. You can discover more about my comprehensive 12 week program, CannaFit, which helps you integrate cannabis into your fitness and nutrition for optimal wellness at www.cannafitnessnutrition.com.