The Glorious Evolution of Cannabis Edibles

The landscape of cannabis edibles is ever-evolving, with legalization and regulation playing pivotal roles. In Canada, we've witnessed slow but steady progress, and it's a narrative that's unfolding globally. This shift isn't just about laws; it's about breaking barriers and setting the stage for culinary innovation and consumer education. As a cannabis enthusiast and home cook, I've seen firsthand the challenges and triumphs within the industry, and I believe we're on the cusp of a delicious revolution.

Gone are the days when cannabis cuisine was limited to brownies and gummies. We're entering an era of exploration, where chefs and home cooks alike are infusing cannabis into a diverse array of dishes. It's an exciting time for gastronomy, with the potential for fusion and experimentation that knows no bounds.

Education is key to this culinary renaissance. As consumers become more knowledgeable about the nuances of edibles, the demand for high-quality, well-crafted products that cater to specific tastes and dietary requirements is on the rise. It's a journey of discovery, and I'm here to guide you through it. 

The future of cannabis is already here. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

And we're back, friends, for episode 233, and in this one we are talking about the future of cannabis edibles as envisioned by chatGPT and myself. Stay tuned, welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles, where I help you take control of your high life. I'm your host and certified Gongé, marge, and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here and thank you for joining me today. Welcome back, friends. I'm really glad you're here for yet another episode. This is episode 233, and I feel like sometimes I really need to talk a bit more about that, because sometimes I still can't believe that when I picked up this microphone four and a half years ago, that I'd be here for episode 233. It's kind of mind-boggling a little bit. You may be wondering, but, marge, why are you talking about the future of cannabis as envisioned by chatGPT and yourself? What gives you the credence to do such a thing? To be honest, I'm just one lady with an opinion and, as we all know, opinions are like assholes Everyone's got one. You can take it with a grain of salt, of course, but I am somebody who does spend an inordinate amount of time making, eating, enjoying edibles and paying attention to the industry, even though I'm not directly involved in it, which gives me a pretty unique perspective. I think I do talk to a lot of people who are directly involved in the cannabis edibles industry, but I myself am a bit of an outlier. It's a place I like to be, to be honest, because it gives me a certain sense of freedom. I'm not beholden to anybody, so there is that. But the other reason is actually because I had a recipe prepared. I made a bunch of recipes a couple of weeks ago because I knew I'd also be going to Saskatchewan for a week to visit some friends, which I did. It was a wonderful time and that's probably why I got the question quite often why are you going to Saskatoon in January? And because it was worth it to see friends, even though it was cold as fuck. I mean, I got off the plane and I think it was minus 45 degrees Celsius and let me tell you, my entire bag was packed with long underwear, thermals, snow pants and the bulkiest sweaters, like a possibly Kraman there. It was a small miracle that I was able to Kraman as much as I did, but it was worth it. And now, as a Canadian, I'm pretty used to the cold weather not typically that cold, but I can adapt because I'm Canadian, but I digress.

Speaker 1: 2:32

So the recipe that I have prepared for right after I came back I was kind of like it was good, but I it wasn't where I wanted it to be, if you will, and as far as an infused recipe goes. So I'm going to try it out again, I think, in the near future, maybe do a little tweaking and see, because it was unique and if you like onions, you would like this, and maybe it's not as traditionally as as favorite, as favorite as some of the other ones. I noticed the gingery beat soup stats wise not do as well as some of my, some of my other episodes have. But you know, at the end of the day, I make what I want. It's my show, so I do what I want and a lot of you folks just join for the ride and you can pick and choose a recipe. He's really speak to you. So that's the beauty of being a small independent podcaster I get to do what I want.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Now, as a result, I was kind of like well, what should I talk about this week? And I was looking for some ideas, didn't really? I have a whole bunch of recipes planned. I'm going to be making some, and I have some that I've already made and I really enjoyed. I'll probably be making them for a second time around. So I have a lot of recipes upcoming that I'm excited about.

Speaker 1: 3:39

But I thought I would take to chat CPT and ask what it thought the future of cannabis was going to look like, because we're integrating these tools so much into our lives every day and this technology came out onto the scene in when was it Late 2022, I think when first touch APT came came onto the scene, and now it's in. Like every single tool that I use in podcasting and, I'm sure, whatever work you're doing, ai is being incorporated into any everything that you're doing as well, and it's sort of like, what's it going to look like in five years? It's kind of mind blowing. I saw something recently where there was an app that's been created that will take. It's an app for your phone and it was AI enabled and it would allow you to take a picture of a big pile of Legos and from that pile, it could tell you what you can make with those Legos, and it wasn't a short list, I mean. I guess it might depend, of course, on the size of the pile that you have, but it told you what you can make with it, how to make them, and then would also go and point out where those pieces were in your pile of Lego. If that's AI technology, I'm here for it.

Speaker 1: 5:01

But before we get into the meat and potatoes of this week's episode, let's talk a little bit about some reviews, because I got my first one star review and sometimes I think, folks, that means I've made it. Oh, wait a second. I've made it, of course, before that because of people like you who are listening right now. So One star reviews be damned. Thank you for being here. I don't know if I was able to spit that out earlier. If you're joining me for the first time, I hope you enjoy it and it's intriguing enough for you to listen to some of the back episodes in the catalog or Stay tuned for future episodes. And if you've been following me for a while, I appreciate you. I don't know if that ever really comes across clearly enough in this audio format when you can't see my face, but I Really do appreciate it, because I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for people listening, because you know, obviously if no one's listening, then there's really no point to doing this. You're just talking to yourself at that point and that's when you start to look a little crazy. But thank you, thank you for being here making this possible.

Speaker 1: 6:06

So I got my first one-star review. I was so excited. I got an email I said saying that hey, you've got a new review and I open it up and it's one star, and from a fellow Canuck to boot, or is it the to boot? I don't know, I don't talk like that. Anyway, I don't think I do anyway. Ouch, it was like what the fuck?

Speaker 1: 6:25

And I read the content of the review and there's like this has nothing to do with my show, but it was a personal attack on a guest that I had a while back, like episode 70s in the 70s, and I'm not gonna comment on what went on between this anonymous reviewer and the guest chef Working in an unnamed restaurant in an unnamed place and an unnamed, unknown period of time. But what I can't ask if you're gonna leave a review, please let at least let it be relevant and Also kind. Maybe this chef did act poorly at some point in his life. Who hasn't, haven't? We all done things that we regret, but we're lucky that there wasn't a cell phone in sight to capture it. I think of you, my fellow Gen Xers, who were able to pull off a lot of shit and nobody was ever the wiser. Sometimes I feel very grateful for the time in which I grew up, but likely for me Apple's reviewing or removing the review because it was so clearly not relevant to the content of the show.

Speaker 1: 7:23

But I do have two takeaways from this, and one is, first and foremost, be kind to each other. We're all looking for connection and community, and most of us are dealing with hard things because Life is hard and those hard things are going to be different for everybody, but it doesn't make it any less relevant to the person who's having to deal with them. So be kind. And two is more of a shameless plug. If you feel so compelled, please leave a five star rating and reviews that more edibles lovers like you and I can find the show On our little corner of the internet that we're sharing together. And if you want some community, why not consider joining the bite me cannabis club too? So that's my takeaway from my first one star review.

Speaker 1: 8:10

Now, before we get into it as well, I almost forgot the stoner trivia and I'm pulling it out of the box right now, as we speak, because I didn't think of it ahead of time when I was writing my show notes out. I'm gonna take a car from the middle of the deck if you're listening to that to this side. That's what I'm doing right now Putting the deck back down on my desk. And what have we got here for stoner trivia this week? Oh, this is a history question worth 50 points if we're keeping track, and I'm gonna take a look at the next one. Oh, this is a history question worth 50 points if we're keeping track.

Speaker 1: 8:43

In 1986, carlton Turner, president Reagan's drug advisor, suggested that marijuana can make you dumb, sterile, gay or crazy, and I'll reveal the answer at the end of this episode, so you won't have to wait for too long to find out the answer. What was suggested? Marijuana could make you Dumb, sterile, gay or crazy. So let's get into this week's subject matter, shall we? The future of cannabis cuisine. According to chat GPT, I thought it would be interesting to ask at sort of what it thought the future of cannabis edibles specifically was going to look like, because I don't know. Like I was saying at the outset of this episode. It is something that is becoming pretty relevant in our lives right now in very small and meaningful ways, but we're utilizing these AI tools more and more, and they have some insights or ways of looking at things we might not have considered. Obviously, there's a lot of issues with AI yet that we need to look at or examine, but it does make life easier in many ways. So this is what it had to say, and then it came up with 10 points. So the future of cannabis cuisine is poised to be an exciting and dynamic field, influenced by several key factors, including evolving legal landscapes, culinary innovation, consumer preferences and technological advancements. Here's a closer look at these elements and how they might shape the future of cannabis infused foods. And then it went on to give 10 specific points, which I thought was quite well done. Thank you, chat GPT.

Speaker 1: 10:27

The first one was widening legalization and regulation. As more regions legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use, the market for cannabis cuisine will likely expand. This will encourage more chefs and food businesses to explore and innovate in this space, leading to a broader acceptance and normalization of cannabis in everyday cuisine. I mean, that's a nice thought. I do feel like the widening legalization regulation is going to help, but it's also a very slow process. I'm in Canada. We've had legalization for over five years now and we still don't have cannabis edibles stronger than 10 milligrams per package. There's still no cannabis lounges or places where you can buy freshly infused foods, and a lot of cannabis dinners are still kind of underground or skirting loopholes that allow people to host these things in certain parameters. So this is going to probably take longer than we think and, of course, widening legalization regulation needs to happen on a far more widespread. It would be nice if Canada wasn't one of the few places where cannabis is legal, and this usually the policy framework that surrounds it is so heavy handed that it really doesn't encourage a lot of this. Yet that doesn't mean things are going to change, but I find change is always so fucking slow.

Speaker 1: 11:49

Infused dinners, fresh edibles options and dispensaries and food service operations. What I would love to see is, say, food sales at farmer's market. So some you know farmer Joe or farmer Mary Jane or whatever, is making cookies from the weed that grew at their farm and then they're, you know, bringing them to the market. I would buy that, why not? I want to support local makers and I don't see that happening anytime soon, but I go to farmer's markets for tomatoes. Why can't I pick up a little weed or edibles there too? And it just so happens I have a friend in my town who is hosting a cannabis infused dinner of a five course meal. That looked absolutely delightful and I was going to be helping him out at it, and a week before the dinner was set to take place, eventbrite, who was doing the ticket hosting for the event, canceled it on him. Why? Because it was in violation of community guidelines, because weed is bad. And even though he's in Canada and is perfectly legal in Canada, he still has to deal with these types of things, and this is something that we people deal with all the time. And Eventbrite is based in the States and so, of course, even though he read through their terms and conditions ahead of time, it didn't matter a week before the event, and so now he's scrambling and having to deal with three funds and all the rest of it. So we're still a little ways off this widening legalization and regulation.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Number two culinary innovation and fusion. Chefs and culinary experts are increasingly experimenting with cannabis as an ingredient, exploring his potential beyond traditional brownies and gummies. Expect to see more sophisticated and diverse. Diverse options, including gourmet meals, exotic desserts and a fusion of different culinary traditions and incorporate cannabis. Well, I'd say the future is now because, yes, there are many chefs out there who are experimenting with culinary cannabis Culinary cannabis as we speak, in a lot of different culinary traditions, and it's super exciting to watch the one cook that I got right now the high times, let's get baked book that I got for Christmas has a lot of those influences in it and it's so interesting because it is definitely beyond the traditional brownies and gummies. But I would also like to say that it's people like you and I where a lot of this innovation is happening. To chefs, yes, and they often have a platform of some kind so they can talk about what they're doing or a place in which to share these things with other people. But it's people like you and I who are experimenting the kitchen, where a lot of this is also happening, and I think that makes things more interesting when things are also happening in the home kitchen as well. So that's where a lot of innovation and fusion can be found and, in large part, that could be influenced by chefs that we're following and we're interested in their work, but you know, if it's not happening in the home kitchen, is it even really happening?

Speaker 1: 14:43

Number three consumer education and sophistication. As consumers become more knowledgeable about cannabis, its effects and its culinary applications, there will be a growing demand for high quality, well crafted edibles. This knowledge will drive a preference for edibles that are not only effective but also cater to specific tastes and dietary requirements, and I think we're already starting to see a lot of this as well. People who are into edibles are looking for better quality edibles on the market, and then you also have people like you and I, once again, who have a demand for high quality, well crafted edibles. So they're making them themselves, because when you make them yourself, you know exactly what's going into them. You can buy the best quality ingredients that you can afford to buy and you know. You know what you're doing. And, of course, they're typically going to be full spectrum, because you're using the whole plant. You're not just using a distillate or some kind of extracted THC or CBD component, and I think I'm seeing in the market as well. Some of the most interesting edibles are ones like rose edibles, for instance. That was a consumer brand that is doing things differently and catering to that high quality, well crafted edible. I'll link to that episode in the show notes because I think what they're doing is beautiful. But also you're seeing a lot of edibles on the market now they're using like rosin instead of just distillate, and that is because there's this growing demand for something that's something that's more robust as a high than the extracted, distillate type edibles that you see on the market. People are looking for new solutions that will give them more of what they want.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Number four a focus on health and wellness. Cannabis cuisine will likely align more with cannabis and wellness trends. This could include the creation of edibles with specific health benefits, such as stress release or sleep aids, and a focus on organic, non-fatalized organic, non-gmo and natural ingredients. I think we're kind of already there. Cannabis just naturally lends itself to a focus on health and wellness, because it allows you to deal with a multitude of health issues, whether it's stress relief or sleep aids or something more serious, if you will Well, also allowing many users to get off of pharmaceuticals that usually have a longer list of side effects than cannabis does. So some of this stuff. Sorry, chat GPT, this sounds a little more like marketing, because I think it's been known for a long time that stress relief and sleep aids and that sort of thing Are things that cannabis can help people with, and has for a long time, and that's why people are turning to it. Now, of course, you know, focus on organic and non-gmo natural ingredients. I think you're already starting to see that out there. There are options for that out there on the market and, once again, if you're making your own, you are often able to choose those organic, non-gmo natural ingredients to go on your own edibles. The beauty of making your own it gives you the Power. Take the power back people. Maybe that should be the theme of this particular episode.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Number five technological advances Advances in extraction and infusion. The future will bring more sophisticated methods of THC and CBD extraction and infusion. This technology will allow for more precise dosing, consistency and flavor profiles, enhancing both the safety and enjoying enjoyment of cannabis edibles. I can't totally comment on this one because I'm not the forefront of extraction technology, but I do see a lot of this in the realm of beverages and I have spoken to a number of people in the beverages space and how technology is enabling a whole lot of innovation in drinks that are available in the cannabis market. Full spectrum, I think, still reigns supreme, though, and Sophistication precise, I mean the precise dosing, of course is always a good thing when it comes to edibles. Consistency, you definitely want that, so that doesn't enhance the safety and enjoyment of edibles that you're buying off the legal market. But I again I sometimes I think we're already there and it's hard to. I can't really comment too much on that, so I think I'll leave it at that.

Speaker 1: 18:44

Number six Microdosing and personalization. There will be a growing interest in micro dosing, or small amounts of cannabis are used to achieve desired effects without overwhelming psychoactivity. Personalized edibles tailored to individual preferences and desired outcomes could become more prevalent, and I think we're seeing personalization in a lot of other markets. I don't know if you've heard of prose shampoo, but that's one that comes to mind. I think it's. Do they advertise a lot on podcasts? I think they do. As a result, I listen to a lot of podcasts, so I've heard their ads a lot. But why not here? That could be very interesting. I'm not really sure how that would look because I think you know, for micro dosing and personalization, you just have to look for edibles that are at a dose tailored to your own specific tolerance, and those do exist. You can go out and buy edibles that are one milligrams, two milligrams, five, ten, and now of course, in Canada. If you're gonna go beyond that you're probably gonna have to turn to the legacy market or once again Make your own, but it is possible to find that. But I think the personalization Could be very interesting. I Think actually that's what it was. I think a lot of this micro dosing and personalization comes with growing consumer education, because people are becoming more aware of how tolerance can affect their experience, the potency, and so they're looking for personalization already because they're becoming more educated about how to bulls work in their body and how and how Smaller doses often suit people better. So that seems to make a lot of sense to me.

Speaker 1: 20:16

Integration into everyday dining. As societal norms continue to evolve, we may see cannabis being incorporated more regularly into meals, much like herbs and spices are used today and If you're listening to this show, you're already here or you're almost there probably because you're using cannabis. Add an edible cannabis in your daily routine already. Maybe you're not putting into your meals regularly, but you might have the you know the, that of olive oil or or coconut oil At the ready all the time. But the future is now Number eight sustainability and ethical sourcing.

Speaker 1: 20:55

As with other areas of cuisine, there'll be an increased focus on sustainable sustainability and ethical sourcing of cannabis and other ingredients used in edibles. So I'd really love to believe this, but from what I can see, there's still such a push towards corporate weed. So unless we can find ways to make it easier for craft cannabis and edibles come to small edibles companies to compete with the big boys, the big gals, that's going to be difficult. Also, this was already the case in many communities before prohibition drove it underground. Someone once told me that cannabis was used like basil in Thailand. It was used frequently in cooking and it would be really beautiful to see return to traditional uses of cooking, traditional uses of cannabis, culinary cannabis, in communities where it's existed for a long time, and I'm not sure we're going to find that under existing capitalist structures, but I could be proven wrong. People are definitely interested in more sustainable and ethical sourcing. So perhaps People voting with their dollars when they go into the dispensaries and not finding what they want could be they could ship, you know shift these larger companies into doing this because they have to, because that's what people want. Again, I bring up rose edibles because it was a recent, a recent interview, but also because they do believe in sustainable and ethical sourcing of all the ingredients they put in their edibles. And so when you support companies like that, you're supporting this kind of Value that companies are bringing to the rentables. And, once again, if you are making your own edibles, you can sustainably and ethically source whatever ingredients go into what you have. So you can make your own edibles how you want to make them, and if that's important to you, then you can find ways to make that happen.

Speaker 1: 22:36

Number nine digital integration and e-commerce. The role of technology and marketing, selling and educating about cannabis edibles will grow. E-commerce platforms, apps for dosage tracking and virtual cooking classes may become more prominent. Well, anything that pushes forward the agenda of education, educating the public I'm all for. A hundred years of prohibition have left us a little lost and confused and there's still so much stigma around cannabis. Sometimes I forget about how much stigma there is and then you run into people who are like you gross kind of thing, and maybe not you gross, but they just don't understand it. There's still a ton of misconception around what a cannabis user looks like and a lot of other things surrounding cannabis use and what it can do for us, our communities and the planet. And I'm not as excited about more marketing and selling, for obvious reasons, because a lot of times this is coming from huge companies that are looking for ways to steal our attention. And sometimes I'm tired of being marketed to or being sold to, even though sometimes I realize I participate in that and a little bit myself, so I'm not that's not totally lost on me, but there's a time and a place, of course, and there are tons of small, medium sized businesses who are doing really cool things, who are helping the cannabis community, educating the public and just bringing things to the market that fall under some of these other categories, like sustainability and ethical sourcing and some of these other things. So those are the companies I want to support and that's what I want to see more of, because I feel like we have enough marketing and selling as it is. Let's focus on some of the other positives, like the education and dose tracking and cooking classes and that sort of thing that makes it easier for people to access education and their animals and their cannabis.

Speaker 1: 24:25

Last but not least, number 10, global influence and expansion. As different companies explore and change their cannabis policies, there will be cross cultural influences and cannabis cuisine, leading to a rich, global tapestry of edible offerings. Well, that sounds nice, doesn't it? I think we need more acceptance of cannabis in more places, and if only the US would legalize federally and if Germany could get their shit together, perhaps that would usher in a whole new role of acceptance, because those two places, those would be game changers. I mean, canada is leading, but it's not a market like the US where if the US were to legalize, that would be huge. And Germany, of course, is like that gateway to all of Europe, because I like the sounds of rich global tapestry of edible offerings and it's like are we talking world peace here? Could cannabis usher in a whole new era of acceptance amongst people? That does sound nice, Perhaps a really good place to end. In summary, the future of cannabis cuisine is likely to be marked by greater sophistication, diversification and integration to mainstream culinary practices, driven by advancements in legalization, consumer education and culinary innovation.

Speaker 1: 25:47

And I would like to suggest, my friends, that we're already there for a lot of this stuff. We're already there and it shows like this show bite me, the show about edibles or perhaps some of the other shows that you're listening to, whether they're about edibles or cannabis or education science. That's already ushering in the future of cannabis and, of course, the future of cannabis cuisine is what I'm particularly interested in, and you are probably too. You're at the forefront of this future because you're making cannabis and cannabis edibles in your own kitchen and that, my friends, is really going to change things, because when everyone's doing that in their own kitchen, it's impossible to ignore and, once again, you have total control. When you're making your own edibles, you have control. If you're growing your own weed and making your own edibles, you are taking the power back. My friends from large corporate companies who are trying to take it from you because they don't want you making your own shit. They want you buying stuff, and I don't know. I just like making my own stuff too.

Speaker 1: 26:50

There's a whole bunch of reasons why people do it, many of which I mentioned in this episode, but it feels good to do something for yourself and to put a little bit of that power back in your own hands. So if you enjoy that episode, please consider sharing it with someone that you care about, maybe somebody who's thought about making their own edibles, or perhaps growing or something to that effect, or just learning more about cannabis. You can always talk to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of these points. If you have an urge to share what you think, please do never hesitate to reach out to me. You can reach me by email, the podcast hotline or DM me on Instagram. That's the social platform I'm most active on. You can also stay up to date with news and events and other fun things with the email newsletter and, of course, consider using the products and services on the Marge recommends page, because that helps to support the show.

Speaker 1: 27:44

Once again, like I mentioned earlier, join the bite me Cannabis Club. Before we end it, though, back to the trivia question you thought I'd forgotten. In 1986, carlton Turner, president Reagan's drug advisor, suggested that marijuana can make you dumb, sterile, gay or crazy. The answer is marijuana can make you gay, according to Carlton Turner in 1986. Thank God, we've come a long, long way. My friends. I'm your host, marge, and until next week, stay high.