Cannabis gummies are coming soon to the Mexican market but cannabis beer is already here.
After three years, authorities have approved the sale of Cannabeer, an award-winning hemp brew from Barcelona that is the first cannabis beer to appear on Mexican shelves.
Like any other alcoholic beer, knocking back a few will have an inebriating effect but don’t expect to get high: Cannabeer contains no THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, and doesn’t even have a cannabis flavor.
Angélica Gálvez, the brand’s distributor in Mexico, told the newspaper Milenio that despite popular stereotypes both hemp and marijuana can actually be beneficial to one’s health.
“Hempseed is a seed that is known for its benefits such as high contents of protein, essential amino acids and Omega 3 [fatty acids] . . . I dare say that the [cannabis] beer is a healthy product,” she said.
“If you drink five, you’ll get drunk like you would with any other beer but it’s because of the alcohol, not the hemp. It won’t give you a psychoactive effect . . . the beer is classified . . . to be sold as a craft beer not a CBD [cannabidiol],” Gálvez explained.
Cannabeer, whose label features a cannabis leaf, comes in two varieties: la original, a brown ale, and la dorada, a blonde ale.
Both contain the same amount of hempseed but its flavor is virtually undetectable to the untrained palate.
“The seed doesn’t affect the flavor at all. There are connoisseurs that have told me that it has a light tone that they can’t place . . . It’s not herbal but it’s something that’s different to other beers,” Gálvez said.
After going through a long bureaucratic process to get Cannabeer into Mexican stores, bars and restaurants, Gálvez hopes that people put their prejudices to one side and take to the beer, which retails for between 75 and 120 pesos a bottle.
“I think that we have to learn that there is no good or bad. Everything is bad in excess, even water. There were moments in which I doubted the license [would be granted] . . . but I was always conscious that it’s a normal process for something that’s a pioneer,” she said.
“It’s the first product that’s going to open the door . . .”
Source: Milenio (sp)
