Cannabis cocktails are on the menu

By Fusion Staff  |  February 12, 2015 | 4:24pm
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The latest mixology craze could take potent potables to a new level.

Bloomberg Business reports that mixologists are experimenting with infusing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, into cocktails and crafting weed-flavored drinks.

But don’t expect this budding trend to sweep the nation just yet. Even in states where recreational marijuana is legal, public consumption is banned. So the only places where you’ll be able to find a cannabis cocktail are in underground settings (or someone’s living room).

The “gold-standard” for marijuana-laced cocktails was set at Roberta’s Pizza in Brooklyn three years ago, according to Bloomberg. Here were some of the offerings on the menu:

The restaurant’s underground weed dinner included THC-infused riffs on the Gin Sour (gin, lemon, sugar, egg whites, and grapefruit bitters, plus a tincture made with gin, Earl Grey tea leaves, and a “grapefruit-y” strain of indica cannabis) and the California Painkiller (rum, fresh-squeezed orange juice, pineapple, and marijuana-infused coconut oil, topped with grated nutmeg; see recipe below).

Bloomberg also provides some pot-inspired cocktail recipes for you to try at home. Cheers!

Former university president turns to medical pot

It’s academic, via AP/Julie Jacobson

Joe Crowley used to be the president of the University of Nevada-Reno. Now he’s in charge of a business that was granted Reno’s first license to sell medical marijuana.

Crowley became interested in medical pot when his older brother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, according to USA Today. His sister also used cannabis to ease her pain from undergoing 13 major surgeries.

“To watch what happened to him was agony for me,” Crowley. “And my sister, she’s one of those people for whom the standard pain reliever does not work.”

Crowley’s company, Sierra Wellness Connection, plans to open a dispensary in downtown Reno.

A victory for legal weed?

A federal judge in California is seriously considering defendants’ request to throw out their drug charges because the government has improperly classified marijuana among the most dangerous drugs, Reuters reports.

“If I were persuaded by the defense’s argument, if I bought their argument, what would you lose here?” Judge Kimberly J. Mueller asked prosecutors during a Wednesday court session.

The group of nine men were charged in 2011 with illegally growing marijuana in Northern California.

Marijuana legalization advocates and some members of Congress have asked the federal government to remove cannabis from its list of Schedule I drugs, which also includes heroin, ecstasy, LSD, and peyote.

Jordan Fabian is Fusion’s politics editor, writing about campaigns, Congress, immigration, and more. When he’s not working, you can find him at the ice rink or at home with his wife, Melissa.

 
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