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Why marijuana-infused coffee could be the future of legal pot

Brett Levin/Flickr

Marijuana-infused coffee could be available for sale soon in Washington State, according to Time and the Huffington Post, quoting Adam Stites who says he's ready to bring the product to market.

To perhaps a greater extent than people realize, mashups of this kind are very likely to be the future of pot in a world where legalization continues to gain momentum. The key thing is that if marijuana were to be really and truly legal, farmers could start applying efficient cultivation methods and it would likely become extremely cheap. You're talking about what's essentially a bulk agricultural product that's expensive today because illicit status makes it hard to produce. But bulk tea cost just a few dollars per ounce — drastically cheaper than what people are accustomed to paying to get high.

That future cheap pot becomes very attractive as a kind of throw-in or additive.

Conversely, just selling the herb leaves you as just a middleman with no real added value. In a criminal world, the pot dealer's role in distribution and shouldering legal risk is a real service that earns a premium. But in a legal pot world, just handing over bags of pot is a pretty low-end enterprise. It's the people who are blending marijuana with something else — a great coffee experience, great baking skills, whatever — who'll capture the value.

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