Big Apple Or THC Apple? NYC Considers Raising Culinary Art To New High: Cannabis-Infused Food

Would you like a nice slice of pepperoni pizza made with THC-infused tomato sauce? Who wouldn’t, right?

Well, there’s hope. At least for New Yorkers, whose state officials are apparently mulling over this culinary cannabis creation. 

The New York Post reported Sunday that officials are considering allowing pizzerias and other eateries to sell cannabis-infused food and packaged marijuana edibles.

A spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management, Aaron Ghitelman, said there have been talks about giving these licenses to food preparers. Nevertheless, “the regulations regarding infused food products have not been released yet,” Ghitelman noted.

The first licenses to sell will weed are expected to be issued this coming fall and sales to start by the end of the year. 

State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who played an important role in writing New York’s marijuana law noted that allowing eateries like pizzerias to sell marijuana-infused food products was not a hot topic while she was working on the measure. She did add, however, that it is not explicitly forbidden either. “Of course, cannabis with edibles is not a new concept,” Krueger said.

Any Problems With The Old Concept? 

While there’s no doubt that the food and restaurant industry would blossom (read profits) with this innovation, quite a few issues need to be worked out.

Under New York’s law, people under 21 are not allowed to buy marijuana, which means pot pizza would be off-limits to them. In fact, Krueger argues that children and teens should not be allowed on sites where weed-infused food is served.

“So no big pie shared with kids,” she noted.

And, of course, all food products would need to be strictly specified and labeled, so that customers know exactly how much THC is on their pizza.

“Adults must be 21 to purchase legal cannabis products from a licensed dispensary, which is held to intense regulatory and compliance standards beyond what pizzerias or other restaurants may be able to do compliantly without incurring additional operating expenses,” said Bethany Moore of the National Cannabis Industry Association.  

Considering that restaurants cannot hold licenses for both liquor and cannabis, they would be obliged to choose one or the other. Chances are, the majority would hold on to their alcohol license.

Not to mention, but still, we must…marijuana is still illegal under the federal law, which could stir up some issues.

It looks like there are many hurdles to clear though the concept might be doable within an adequately regulated marijuana program. Whether New Yorkers will put in the required effort to see this happen, remains to be seen.

Until then, I’ll gladly take a nice hot slice of Margherita.

Photo: Courtesy of Brenna Huff on Unsplash