New technologies and nimble business ventures make marijuana-infused beverages a game-changer.
By ARI BAR-OZTHE CANNABIS beverage market was estimated to be worth $1.8 billion in 2020. By 2027, industry analysts predict that number will skyrocket to $8.5b.(photo credit: COURTESY SPUTNIK CANNABIS GROUP)
Cannabis might not be your cup of tea, but it could soon be your cup of soda, seltzer or beer.Drinkable marijuana – long the Holy Grail of researchers and food scientists working to develop palatable, easy-to-consume cannabis edibles – has finally arrived.In an age of daily scientific marvels, drinkable cannabis might not seem like much of an achievement. After all, what could be simpler than making a plant extract and stirring it into a glass of water?In a world where oil and water do not mix, plenty.Though its consumption by humans is far more ancient, the first known recorded use of cannabis dates to the reign of Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, some 4,700 years ago. By comparison, the science of cannabis is virtually in its infancy. It has been fewer than 60 years since Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and his research partners at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot isolated delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the best-known of marijuana’s psychoactive components.In the years since, Mechoulam – now of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at the age of 90, still actively researching the plant – has discovered many more active ingredients – of which there are hundreds, all of them oils. Fortunately, there have also been great advances in the science of emulsification: making substances that don’t normally mix in nature to mix in liquids.The primary way by which oils are made more readily mixable with water is to make the discrete bits of oil smaller. Much smaller. About 10-20 nanometers in diameter, or approximately 1/100th the width of a human hair. Without such miniaturization, cannabis beverages taste like... well, cannabis, an acquired taste at best. Now, virtually all flavors are possible. The cannabis taste hasn’t merely hidden, it’s vanished.Yet smaller alone is not necessarily better. In one famous early experiment, manufacturers were able to get a cannabis-infused beverage into a can but were unable to get it out after the miniaturized marijuana got stuck in the can’s lining.Fast forward a few years and those myriad problems have been solved, bringing the benefits of drinkable marijuana to a new generation of savvy consumers.For those who choose to enjoy the product, cannabis-infused beverages are the summum bonum of marijuana research. Gone suddenly are the dangers, inconvenience and social stigma of smoking. Gone too are the hazards of vaping – vaporizing the plant’s fumes – which based on recent studies are of particular concern, particularly when mixed with flavored e-liquids.
CANNABIS-INFUSED beverages also eliminate a major problem inherent in edible cannabis products: unpredictability. Absorption of THC from a brownie or gummy bear can vary widely, depending on an individual’s metabolism, the food they’ve recently eaten and a host of other factors. As a result, the same cannabis cookie eaten by the same person might yield its effects in half an hour on one day and take several hours on another. The effects enjoyed with cannabis drinks, on the other hand, are far more predictable. Liquids are absorbed far more quickly than solids. And faster absorption brings a faster onset of action, more suited to the social nature of eating.One perhaps unintended result of drinkable marijuana is its benefit to restaurants and other segments of the consumer food service industry. A food service trade journal recently estimated that restaurants make 30% of their profits from the sales of alcohol. So it’s no surprise that restaurateurs, fearing the loss of customers who prefer cannabis over liquor, have expressed serious reservations about legalizing recreational marijuana.Their bottom line is a stake. However, now that such legalization is all but inevitable in Israel, cannabis-infused beverages are poised to be an economic godsend to the sector, which suffered the worst economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Nearly 20% of food and beverage workers lost their jobs as a result of lockdowns and other social restrictions.)Cannabis-infused drinks currently make up only a small portion of beverage sales in US states with liberal cannabis laws. But that portion showed a nearly 40% increase between 2019 and 2020. Israelis, being among the world’s most frequent consumers of marijuana, will almost certainly take to these drinks far more quickly.The cannabis beverage market was estimated to be worth some $1.8 billion in 2020. By 2027, industry analysts predict, that number will skyrocket to $8.5 billion, representing a compound growth rate, or CAGR, of 51%. By way of comparison, the personal computer market makes an interesting contrast. Berkshire Hathaway’s Business Wire cites data from the International Data Corporation touting “strong demand” in the PC market. Saying the sector “has surpassed previous expectations” (in other words, a good investment), it predicts a five-year CAGR for PCs at a surprisingly anemic 2.5%.With such growth, cannabis beverages won’t just mean a boon for food services, but for tax revenues as well. That translates into better schools, more comprehensive healthcare, renewed infrastructure and a host of other needs fundamental to society.Cannabis-infused drinks are an economic game-changer, with some of the best-known beverage companies – such as Heineken and Molson Coors, and tobacco giant Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes – among its largest investors.NOT TO BE outdone, the Fortune 500 powerhouse Constellation Brands recently increased its stake in the Canadian marijuana leader Canopy Growth Corporation to the tune of $4 billion. And while alcohol and tobacco industries have earned a less-than-sterling reputation, there is one thing at which they excel: making money. Forbes magazine reports that even Coca-Cola, the $200b. beverage behemoth, is rumored to be well on its way to making a product with cannabidiol, or CBD, one of the non-psychoactive components of the marijuana plant.There are other surprising big names getting in on the action. (Note to self: The next time two former Israeli prime ministers and a former US speaker of the House endorse a product, invest.) The global conglomerates, however, haven’t yet cornered the burgeoning cannabis-drinks market. That makes the start-up scene particularly innovative and interesting. The large, established corporations, like enormous cargo ships are impressive for their size and power, but they’re not particularly nimble. Cannabis start-ups, though, are more like speedboats: smaller but far faster in adapting to change.In the same way that US breweries were ready to manufacture and distribute beer the instant Prohibition was ended, Israeli companies are poised to manufacture and distribute cannabis beverages throughout IsraelOne such lively start-up making waves of its own is the Sputnik Cannabis Group. SCG is led by a small team of repeatedly successful entrepreneurs whose goal is nothing less than “changing the way people consume, perceive and enjoy cannabis.”That doesn’t mean they want to get everyone utterly and irretrievably stoned. They have a more sustainable business model: for their products to be enjoyed socially. The company’s product formulations express that social model by offering micro-, low-, mid- and high-dose beverages, with THC content ranging from 2.5 mg. to 100 mg. After all, one size does not fit all.Sputnik also produces a wide range of CBD-infused products, the effects of which, while not considered psychotropic, are widely reported to produce feelings that both energize and relax, without any of the side-effects associated with pharmaceutical stimulants or sedatives.The company recently partnered with Canndoc, creating a partnership that is ready to roll. Canndoc is Israel’s leading cannabis company. It’s also the place where some of those previously mentioned famous investors have placed both their private funds and public faces in expectation of big rewards. Legalization in Israel is just a matter of time. When that time comes, lots of people who enjoy the experience of cannabis will be doing so one sip at a time.The writer is a registered nurse with more than 25 years of clinical experience. He currently works as a media consultant, and for The Jerusalem Post as a copy editor.
