New Contender in the Gettin' High Beverage Wars

This is becoming reminiscent of the Cola wars when Pepsi and Coke fought it out by bringing new brands to market every year. Only this time, it's in the exotic beverage market. We saw the loco Lokos and a test market for a whiskey version.

So why not extend the idea to marijuana?

In a move typical of corporate-style market creation, a California marketer hopes to introduce a medical marijuana soda -- weed in a can. The proposed name is "Canna Cola" and another version, "Doc Weed" (a Dr. Pepper flavor).

If he is allowed to produce these products, there's no reason they won't catch on. Many medical marijuana patients prefer to get their drug in some other form than by smoking. After all, tobacco smoking has a bad reputation -- and smoking marijuana is more easily detected by smell.

This adds to the already odd assortment of available food products containing marijuana -- brownies, cookies, candy and flavored extracts. But why stop there? If medical marijuana is legal, and alcohol is legal, and caffeine is legal... the combinations boggle the mind.

One surprising thing is the lack of regulation for medical marijuana. It isn't a food product, but neither is it treated legally like a medication. For other medications, a pharmacy compounding license is required and testing has to be performed. How exactly will the Canna Cola list its ingredients? Will a know amount of THC have to be included? So far, with other products, this isn't the case. Clinics simply add some quantity of marijuana to the foodstuffs and call it good.

One surprising thing is the lack of regulation for medical marijuana. It isn't a food product, but neither is it treated legally like a medication. For other medications, a pharmacy compounding license is required and testing has to be performed. How exactly will the Canna Cola list its ingredients? Will a know amount of THC have to be included? So far, with other products, this isn't the case. Clinics simply add some quantity of marijuana to the foodstuffs and call it good.

One consequence of not having a national policy on medical marijuana is that there are no Federal rules in place for such products – other than making them illegal because marijuana is illegal. There isn’t any FDA oversight here. And just as the Lokos only were banned on a state by state basis, so too will each new type of “enhanced food” have to be examined and decided upon.