Expand / Collapse search
☰

Pot in a bottle: Seattle company wants to make marijuana syrup

By Adam Mertz
Published  September 23, 2014 5:21pm PDT
FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News

SEATTLE -- 'Ballard Beat' and 'Wallingford Wanderlust' are just a few flavors of new marijuana-infused syrups set to hit the market here.

Craft Elixirs, a Seattle-based company, is waiting on the final approval from the Washington State Liquor Control Board to start producing the specialty syrups.

“The minute you put it in your mouth and sort of savor the syrup, you can start to feel the effects of the cannabis,” said owner Jamie Hoffman.

Hoffman’s company makes five different syrups. She said they can be put on foods and used to make soda. There is an orange and blueberry flavor, regular syrup, and one that tastes like coffee.

“You know, it doesn’t really taste much like the marijuana.  It is very slight,” said Hoffman.

Craft Elixirs is one of five companies with pot-infused edibles approved for sale by the Liquor Control Board. The product, along with the label and packaging, must meet state standards before it is allowed on store shelves.

Just like with pot stores and marijuana growers getting state approval, it is a lengthy licensing process for those companies making pot-infused food and drinks.

“You have to be inspected by the Department of Agriculture. They have to come through your kitchen and make sure that everything is set up right. They are kind of like the health department for the Liquor Control Board,” said Hoffman.

The findings are then turned over to the Liquor Control Board before a final license is approved. So far, the Washington State Department of Agriculture reports 16 kitchens have passed inspections. However, not every one of those businesses has received a pot license.

The Liquor Control Board said Craft Elixirs is in the final stages of the licensing process. Hoffman expects her license to be issued in the next couple of weeks. Right now, her company is making the syrups without the marijuana.

State rules require that pot products list individual serving sizes. All products, packages, and labels cannot be designed to appeal to children.