These doughnuts won't get you stoned, but they'll definitely taste like they should.
Guild Dispensary in San Jose, California, is teaming up with local donut chain Psycho Donuts to bring the world weed-flavored doughnuts in celebration of the stoner holiday 420. But these aren't your typical sweets loaded with weed.
The dispensary's sister company, Guild Extracts, is providing the doughnuts chain with cannabis-derived terpenes, which give marijuana its distinct smell and flavor.
At the chemical level, marijuana is comprised of cannabinoids and terpenoids. While most people are familiar with the cannabinoid THC, the component in cannabis that gets you high, terpenoids consist of the aromatic compounds, including terpenes.
"When you smell that signature marijuana smell, that's what's coming from the terpenes," The Guild CEO Claudio Miranda said in a phone interview.
Because the terpenes used to flavor the doughnuts don't contain THC, the doughnuts won't be psychoactive. So don't expect to feel any effects from this treat other than a possible sugar rush.
In the process of making some of its purest extracts, Guild Extracts derives the terpenes from the plant and isolates it into a liquid. That liquid is then infused into the frosting of the doughnuts, which will give it the taste and smell of fresh weed.
Miranda says that playing around with cannabis terpenes and food is a relatively new process, but expect to see more cannabis terpene food pairings in the future.
Because California has yet to establish its practices for recreational marijuana, only medical marijuana patients in California will be able to enjoy the weed-flavored doughnuts on Thursday at The Guild dispensary in San Jose from 4 to 7 p.m.
Topics Cannabis
