Chocolates infused with cannabis are popping up in stores all over the Central Coast.
They’re sold at nearly 20 stores up and down California.
"Once you eat it, you’re more like, I feel like my nerves have kind of calmed down," said Logan Hodges. "It’s not a powerful feeling. It’s like once you eat it, it’s just really relaxing."
Hodges picked up a CBD Turtle from Soto’s True Earth Market in Cambria.
Baceae Cannabis Confections makes these treats. The one Hodges got is 66 percent dark chocolate with cannabis and other natural ingredients.
"That was really good," Hodges said after he took a bite.
You’re probably wondering how these sweets with a twist are allowed to be sold in local grocery stores, boutiques and spas.
"California blatantly says that it’s legal here and that it’s considered a food supplement so that’s how we can sell in stores," explained Mike Coulson, co-owner of Baceae Cannabis Confections.
Based in Cambria, most of their handmade edibles have 10 milligrams of CBD, one of many compounds derived from cannabis.
"It naturally doesn’t have a psychoactive effect, that’s just kind of how CBD works. We, in ours, have what’s called 99.9 percent CBD isolate is what we use, so it ensures there is zero THC," Coulson said.
THC is the main psychoactive compound found in cannabis. It’s what gives users that high.
On the flip side, CBD comes from hemp and it’s bred without the THC.
"We always say, eat one, wait two. So eat one, wait two hours, see how you feel and then you can always add another one," Coulson added.
Mint + Craft in downtown San Luis Obispo has been selling the desserts for about six months and they’re a hit.
"It’s probably one of our best sellers of our retail food items," said Shanny Covey, co-owner of Mint + Craft. "And the fact that they’re chocolate, I think it also adds to that popularity of it, you know. It’s hard to kind of pass up chocolate and cannabis."
Baceae has concentrated on CBD products since last October.
Coulson says with each passing milestone in the legalities of cannabis, more people are coming out of the shadows to try it.
"I’ve talked to many people who now think it’s okay to use it because it’s now legal, that literally, morally-wise they didn’t want to use it because there were laws in place and now that those have kind of been taken away, they’re like ‘oh, it’s okay,’" Coulson continued.
Some people have even started to incorporate the delicacies into their daily lives.
"It feels good, it tastes good, it’s something I really enjoy," Hodges concluded.
There is no direct law on the age for CBD products. The owner of Baceae says it’s up to the stores.
Some CBD products are given to children battling epilepsy, ADHD and anxiety.
