With the potential legalization of marijuana in Canada, dispensaries are becoming more and more prevalent. Weed edibles, in particular, have evolved immensely. Are edibles the next big food trend? Vv Magazine’s Ama Scriver finds out.
We’re all familiar with pot brownies. I’m sure we’ve all had our own experiences eating one, getting really high and perhaps having a positive (or negative) experience that’s stayed with us for life. Well, things have changed a lot since then and edibles go far beyond those canna-butter brownies you used to make at home. You see, back in 2015, with the legalization of Marijuana in Colorado, weed was deemed the next big food trend.
Flash forward to 2016 and you would be surprised at what you can get your hands on in Toronto alone. From cookies to coffees to toffees, the choices are endless and changing by the minute thanks to the close reality of the potential legalization of marijuana in Canada. With dispensaries – resembling trendy coffee shops or hip hangouts – popping up on street corners everywhere, it’s time to get the straight goods from someone in the know.
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You would be surprised at what you can get your hands on in Toronto Alone. From cookies to coffees to toffees, the choices are endless and changing by the minute.
Brian Kierans is the mastermind behind Dovercourt Park Bakery, a gourmet edible bakery for medical marijuana patients. His edibles have been on the market since fall 2013 and were created in response to patients’ desire to medicate themselves in a discreet way. Brian explains from his own experiences as a patient, that he couldn’t understand why it was so difficult to pick up well-made and well-produced products like cookies or syrups. He decided to do what anyone else in that situation would, he started making and creating the products himself. Since they’ve hit the market, the response has been more than positive.
Across Toronto, you’ll find dispensaries who are lining their shelves with products like the ones from Dovercourt Park Bakery, with quirky names like Cannamel Corn ($15 with 100mg THC per package by The Stoned Oven Bakery), Zombie Rollz ($15, 2 rolls per package for 100mg of THC per roll by The Baked Bakery) or Chrontella. These items, made with medical grade marijuana, are much more potent than what you would make at home, but as Brian explains, the process him and his fellow makers use is something that would leave fellow eaters “not having a bad experience. We want them to remember our product in a positive light.”
For Brian, while he is passionate about weed, he is also passionate about how things taste – something that I admire immensely about him. To date, Dovercourt Park Bakery has two products on the market including the Peanut Butter Cup and S’more Doodle ($20, 2 cookies per package, 100mg of THC) using a dry ice kief extraction. As we discussed the adjustments being made to Canada’s legalization laws, Brian thinks that we should see a considerable growth in the edibles market throughout 2016 as the laws continue to change. He explains that dispensaries in Colorado estimate edibles make up anywhere from 40% to 60% of their sales. This 40% number is something that edibles sellers (in Canada) are hoping to target once legalization hits.
We should see a considerable growth in the edibles market throughout 2016 as the laws continue to change. [Dispensaries in Colorado] estimate edibles make up anywhere from 40% to 60% of sales.
With considerable plans to expand the Dovercourt Park Bakery line in 2016, Brian shows off two syrups he has made, including a lemon-ginger and grapefruit cannasyrup, which he thinks would pair well with teas or even, in his mind, cocktails. He explains to me, “I know I’m not the only one that makes a syrup, but I wanted something that worked with the natural flavours of the product,” and in doing so he’s created a syrup that’s fun, whimsical and a truly ‘high’ end experience.
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It has been hinted that legalization could go through as early as August and perhaps with that, we’ll see chefs at high-end restaurants reaching out to some of our friends in the edibles market to collaborate on unique speciality dishes. Until then, it’s time to get on down to your local dispensary and try some of these semi-legal pot edibles for yourself.
RELATED LINK: So easy, so freaky: How to score a pot prescription
Have you tried edibles? What’s your edible of choice? Let Vv Magazine know in the comments below, or tweet us @ViewtheVibe.
