WAKE AND BAKE

     The best part of waking up used to be Folgers in your cup. Well, stoners, rejoice because cannabis k-cups are finally here to give us old "potheads" a new meaning to the phrase "wake and bake." That's right! Weed k-cups of coffee have hit the market. This should be interesting. 

     Weed coffee is definitely not a new concept, especially if you've been to Amsterdam, but a few innovators on the west coast have started making weed-infused k-cups. One coffee pod called Catapult retails for $10 a pop or $37 for a pack of six. It contains 10 milligrams of THC, do I really need to explain what THC is? For those of you who have never partaken, it's the compound in marijuana that gives you the high. 

     Uncle Ike's Pot Shop in Seattle, Washington, sells Catapult, which has been on the market since February of this year. According to manager Jennifer Lanzador, drinking the weed-coffee combo "seems to give a kick from the caffeine, but it isn't a jittery feeling because of the THC.....You get a nice energetic high." Now, I'm interested. I thought this would be the first coffee to ever make me want go to sleep.

     Recreational marijuana has only been legal in the state of Washington for just over a year, but it didn't take innovators long to get crafty. A new kind of "drinkable" soda called Legal hit the market last June to much fanfare, although a planned cold-brewed coffee version was hindered by the state's refrigeration rules. Packed with 22 milligrams of THC, the soda gives drinkers a slight high. I'm starting to think that I might need to move to the state of Washington. 

     Coffee and soda aside, the future of weed pairings also looks bright. Lanzador said, "Obviously, we will never have gummy bears or lollipops -- the Liquor Control Board determined they appeal to children -- but sodas, nuts, chocolates, cookies, lozenges, pretzels, snack mix, even THC pills are being sold and/or developed. It is a very exciting time for this industry and providing a safe ways to ingest THC is a great alternative to smoking." Um, is it me, or is Seattle starting to sound like Willy Wonka's Weed factory for us adults?

     I have to admit, though, I don't touch the stuff as often as I'd like to because I'm going for my Master's Degree and like to stay focused, but I would love to try that coffee and soda just for experimental reasons, of course. After all, I'm still a huge advocate of the legalization of marijuana. I will never hide that fact. I've been supporting NORML since I was 18-years-old and have told people the benefits of marijuana time and time again, and I'm glad that I get to see it legalized in some states, while the benefits that I always spoke of are now coming out of the woodwork. Like I always say, "No one's ever died from smoking a little marijuana. Drinking alcohol and doing other drugs, I can't say the same." Now, you can drink it in a coffee or soda! Get my Keurig warmed up! Time for some Wake and Bake, baby!