Arizona to Receive Medical Cannabis Kitchen
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]n Arizona dispensary is redefining the definition of “the munchies” by offering healthy medical cannabis-infused options to its customers.
A Tempe-area dispensary called The Mint Dispensary is a full-service kitchen cooking up cannabis-infused foods. The idea was sparked by older patrons wanting healthy edible cannabis options instead of the usual sugar-laden candies and gummies.
“The difference between this and 99 percent of the kitchens out there, is that we have a full range of edibles that are fresh, with no preservatives,” Chief Operating Officer Raul Molina told Marijuana.com. The kitchen, part of a two-million-dollar renovation, will be viewable by patrons, and will serve take-out foods like salad, pastries and take-and-bake pizza. “All of the other kitchens are tucked behind a cultivation site or outside of the dispensary and hidden away. Here, you can see through the windows, five feet away from you, and watch the hustle and bustle of what’s going on in the kitchen.”
“Our kitchen is one of a kind,” said Head Chef Carylann Principal. “It’s a place where art meets science. In addition to understanding the variety of flavors that different cannabis strains can add to any dish, we’re also carefully calculating customized cannabis doses.”
Principal is a 14-year cervical and uterine cancer survivor of 14 years who began making infused foods after a woman recovering from a double mastectomy asked her to infuse her food with cannabis. “The next morning, she walked in the kitchen and told me she slept eight hours for the first time in years and woke up hungry after not having an appetite . . . It was a really great experience.”
There will not be any non-infused foods sold at the location, and customers cannot eat at the location. “For right now we don’t plan to offer food without THC—we don’t want it to lead to the wrong perception,” Molina said. “As much as this industry has grown, we still have to defend ourselves . . . If a patient comes to the dispensary and buys a soda that’s not infused, then they leave the dispensary drinking it and someone took a photo and they could say they were imbibing in THC and driving. We have to be cautious.”
Owners of the kitchen claim that this is the first of its kind in the country. Local medical cannabis patients will be able to take advantage of the kitchen’s unique menu when it opens to the public on Friday, Oct. 5.
