It’s All Going to Pot: The Science and Economics of Edibles

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If you thought it was high time for us to get into the weeds with cannabis science and economics, then you’re in the right place: Welcome back to part two of our miniseries on cannabis edibles! This episode, we meet with leading cannabis researcher Adie Rae to figure out the biology behind the difference between inhaling and eating weed, as well as what we do and don't know about the potential health benefits and harms of cannabis. Can THC help you sleep? Is all this trendy CBD-infused everything on supermarket shelves actually doing anything? All that, plus we get into the surprising challenges facing a business that is still federally illegal, and talk to the entrepreneurs, farmers, and lawyers who are helping craft policy to make sure this new green gold rush benefits the communities most harmed by cannabis prohibition. And, of course, there's the biggest question of all: Will Cynthia get high for the first time ever? Listen in to find out!

A hand holds up a single orange gummy between the index finger and thumb against the background of a bright blue sky
Photo courtesy of Rose Delights

Episode Notes

Nathan Cozzolino and Rose Delights

Nathan Cozzolino is the co-founder of Rose Delights, which the company says are the world’s first edibles infused with single-strain flower rosin. Many thanks also to Joey and Tanya for showing us how to press flower at the Rose kitchen!


Pressing the rosin at Rose. Photo by Nicola Twilley.
A latex-gloved hand uses a small metal spatula to scrape a thick, caramel-looking substance off of a white sheet.
Scraping up rosin from the press, photo courtesy of Rose Delights

Adie Rae

Adie Rae, who publishes under the name Adie Wilson-Poe, is an NIDA-funded neuroscientist at the Legacy Research Institute. She currently studies the pain-relieving  properties of cannabis, in the hope of reducing societal dependence on opioids.

Shanita Penny

Shanita Penny is a cannabis entrepreneur and policy advisor. After a decade in management consulting, helping Fortune 500 companies solve complex problems, she launched her cannabis consultancy, Budding Solutions, in 2015, with a mission to change both the perception of cannabis as a drug and the lack of diversity in the cannabis industry.

Travell Bradford

Travell Bradford is a cannabis farmer, educator and activist based in Oregon. He co-founded the Cannabis Health Equity Movement (CHEM), a non-profit that aims to revitalize Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities through cannabis health education, workforce development, environmental repair, and community initiatives.

Yoko Miyashita

Yoko Miyashita is a lawyer and the CEO of Leafly, the world’s largest cannabis resource and information site. Leafly's recent report, "Seeds of Change," surveys equity in the cannabis industry and puts forward a series of concrete proposals for increasing it.

Three vertically stacked silver trays contain small, black-ish brown gummies of varying sizes that look like, well, dirt.
Trays of "dirt," a special gummy made with leftover fruit purees to minimize waste. This one contains Kokuto sugar, a black Japanese sugar with activated charcoal, pickled shiso leaf, cacao, candy cap mushrooms, and Maldon salt. Photo by Nicola Twilley.

Transcript

Click here for a transcript of the show. Please note that the transcript is provided as a courtesy and may contain errors.