Pizza Today - June 2019 - 16

Man on the Street
SCOTT WIENER

"The ABCs
of CBD"

A

ccording to the National
Restaurant Association, the top
two dining trends in 2019 are
CDB-infused drinks and CDB-infused
food. For those unfamiliar with the term,
CBD is the abbreviation for cannabidoil,
which is a naturally occurring compound
found in cannabis plants. I know what
you're thinking - "Wait, is he talking
about MARIJUANA!?" Not exactly.
While sourced from the same plant family, CBD and marijuana are not the same
product (but their relationship certainly is
part of the allure of this trendy ingredient).
When you see CBD on a menu, it
probably means the restaurant is adding a few drops of CBD oil, an extract
from cannabis plants. It adds very little
flavor, if any, but taste is certainly not why
people are getting excited about it. There's
an obvious buzz about this kind of thing
because it feels edgy and exciting, but
only because of CBD's link to marijuana.
Regardless of that connection, CBD will
not get you high. The part of marijuana
that effects perception is THC, which is
not found to high degrees in CBD products. Companies that manufacture CBD
oil insist on its health benefits, such as
anxiety and migraine relief, but no strong
evidence currently exists for medical
applications.
In fact, the FDA has yet to approve any
CBD product besides an epilepsy drug
called Epidiolex. All the CBD oils being
added to food and drinks are therefore unregulated and that means their
contents are unconfirmed. Recent studies
have found that some products contain
less CBD than their labels claim, if any at
all. Others have higher CBD levels than
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claimed. Until the FDA starts regulating CBD, it's going to be very difficult
to weed out the imposters. According to federal law, CBD derived from
hemp plants (not marijuana plants)
is legal in many states as long as it
contains less than 0.3-percent THC.
It also has to abide by state regulations
and be produced in a licensed facility.
While CBD doesn't have a strong
natural flavor, several companies offer
oils that taste like cotton candy, strawberry, peppermint, and the like. Those
probably won't make their way onto
your pizza; they do get use in drinks
and desserts. There are only two reasons I can see to offer CBD-infused
pizzas. The perception that ingestion
will result in a physical reaction is
extremely appealing so I can see why
a pizzeria might play off that. Every
article I've seen about CBD-infused

food makes ample use of marijuana
puns, only adding to misperception.
The only other benefit is high profit
margin. Unflavored oil costs about
15 cents per milligram and a typical
CBD upgrade adds $7 to $10 to the
price of a pizza. That's a pretty good
profit margin for a few hits.
I'm actually surprised it's such a
highly anticipated trend because I've
only seen it offered in college towns
and other locations that trade on the
marijuana connection. I think this is
going to be a quick fad and will be a
distant memory within the next few
years as marijuana, the product that
DOES have psychoactive effects,
moves toward legalization. ■
SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott's
Pizza Tours in New York City and
SliceOutHunger.org.

JOSH KEOWN
http://www.SliceOutHunger.org http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - June 2019

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