Reeferfront Times

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REEFERFRONT TIMES

[REVIEW]

Tommy Chims Drinks Some Weed Soda

Written by THOMAS CHIMCHARDS

It’s not uncommon, when perusing the wares at a dispensary, to get the good old-fashioned upsell from your budtender. “Oh you like X?” they’ll say. “You have to try Y. I have some of this myself and it’s the best!” They are salesmen, after all.

Usually, as with most upsell situations, I politely wave away the suggestion. But on a recent trip to igh rofile in unset ills to pick up so e flower, got a tip fro the store’s employee that was too good to pass up.

The man in question asked if I’d tried any of the Keef brand cannabis-infused sodas commonly found in most dispensaries. “Yeah, I’ve had the root beer kind,” I replied dismissively.

“No, but have you tried this one specifically ” he asked, gesturing to a can of Purple Passion grape soda. I admitted that I had not, and that’s when he let me in on a little secret.

You see, the regular Keef sodas (as opposed to the large ones) normally come in at about 25 milligrams of THC, and that’s the amount advertised on most dispensary websites. But by government regulation, the manufacturer must put a little sticker on the front of the can that reveals its actual THC content — and the latest batch of Purple Passion that High rofile got clocked in at a considerably higher 32 milligrams per can.

“When I saw that I bought four four-packs just for myself,” my budtender told me, his excitement palpable. o, ne er one to pass up a deal, I opted to give a can of Purple Passion a go. At $14 before tax, it was among the most expensive sodas I’d ever purchased, while simultaneously being one of the cheapest things I’ve ever bought at a dispensary.

Now, as mentioned, I’d tried a eef soda before or y ery first dispensary review, I bought one of their large, 100 milligram root beers and ade a root beer float out of it. As I recall, I downed the whole thing in about fi e inutes, having wildly overestimated my tolerance for edibles, and wound up having to lie down for a while. But 32 milligrams seemed to me like it might be the sweet spot.

Keef somewhat recently rolled out new resealing mechanisms for their cans, to help with dosing and to allow consumers to save any beverage they don’t immediately need for next time. This comes in the form of a little plastic piece that you pop and slide open. I didn’t need such a device for this sampling, as I fully intended to drink the whole thing in one go, but especially for their 100 milligram offerings I can see it being quite handy.

With the top of my pop popped, I took a pull. The taste was damn delicious, a really good grape soda fla or, super sweet and refreshing, with a noticeable weedy aftertaste. I sipped on it leisurely over the course of a half hour or so, and would have gladly done so even if it weren’t infused with THC — it’s a tasty soda.

The high began to kick in after about a half hour. Keef uses all hybrid strains to manufacture its sodas, in order to offer balanced effects and a smidge of consistency fro fla or to fla or. The drinks are named after the strain that the THC was extracted from; in keeping, I did my research and knew my beverage was made using an indica leaning hybrid. urprisingly, though, I found myself quite energetic after drinking it — an hour and a half in I realized I was up and around and cleaning my house, which all of those with whom I share a home will attest is not my usual behavior. I was also chatty and chipper, relaxed but not stoned, and, as I put it in my notes, “pretty in the zone.” This stuff would be great for a party.

All told, the high lasted about two or three hours, leaving me with a powerful hunger by the end (or maybe I just worked up an appetite with all that cleaning). I found it to be a delightful experience fro start to finish, sweet and sugary in all the right ways, and phenomenal in effects. A sincere thanks to that igh rofile budtender on a successful upsell — damn good looking out, sir.

And while can’t say definitively what difference those extra seven milligrams of THC might have made, I can say one thing for sure ’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the number on those little stickers going forward. n

Keef’s cannabis-infused sodas are a tasty way to elevate your day. | TOMMY CHIMS

An hour and a half in I realized I was up and around and cleaning my house, which all of those with whom I share a home will attest is not my usual behavior. I was also chatty and chipper, relaxed but not stoned.

Black people have been disproportionately likely to be arrested for cannabis possession. | SHUTTERSTOCK

[WEED LAWS]

End the War

Cannabis decriminalization reduces racial disparity in arrests for possession

Written by LEE DEVITO

The failed war on drugs is racist: Black people have been disproportionately more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession, despite a similar rate of cannabis use as white people.

Decriminalizing cannabis has been argued as a way to reduce this racial disparity, and it appears to be working. Research shows cannabis decriminalization efforts in the U.S. have reduced the racial disparity in arrests for possession over the past twenty years.

That’s according to a recent peerreviewed study published by the academic journal Social Sciences & Medicine. Researchers at the University of California San Diego analyzed statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report from 2000 to 2019 using data from 37 states, including eleven that decriminalized cannabis.

The researchers found that the eleven states saw a 70 percent reduction in total adult cannabis arrests after decriminalization and a 40 percent reduction in cannabis arrests among young people.

The racial disparity in arrests of Black and white adults decreased significantly, dropping by 17 percent after cannabis decriminalization.

“Cannabis decriminalization seemed to be particularly beneficial to Blacks, who were suffering the most from the adverse consequences of criminal penalties,” the researchers wrote in the report. “Taken together, we recommend that lawmakers and public health researchers reconsider cannabis decriminalization as an option of cannabis liberalization, particularly in states concerning the unintended consequences and implementation costs of medical and recreational cannabis legalization.”

The data did not show a significant reduction in the racial disparity in arrests of Black people younger than eighteen years old, however.

“These findings suggested that cannabis decriminalization had its intended consequence of reducing arrests and may have potential to reduce racial disparity in arrests at least among adults,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers said empirical evidence in support of the claim that decriminalization would reduce the racial disparity in arrests had been “almost non-existent.” n

Researchers found that eleven states saw a 70 percent reduction in total adult cannabis arrests after decriminalization and a 40 percent reduction in cannabis arrents among young people.