MICHIGAN, USA — If you notice long lines outside the dispensaries today, that’s because they’re running the best sales of the year in celebration of April 20th – better known as 4/20 among cannabis users.
People of all ages are expected to celebrate the holiday by exercising their right to legally purchase marijuana in Michigan.
According to Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, the Great Lakes State saw $2.3 billion in sales in 2022, making Michigan the nation’s second largest cannabis market behind California.
The increasing numbers should come as no surprise as the industry continues to expand with new dispensaries opening every month.
The products within the shops are also evolving. In fact, smoking pot has become a thing of the past for many consumers. An ever-expanding lineup of cannabis edibles and, yes, even drinkables has gained popularity in recent years.
Soon, Michiganders will have access to a unique line of cannabis-infused beverages. Jones Soda, known for unconventional flavors and colorful packaging, recently announced it’s expanding into Michigan with a whole line-up of THC drinks.
“As long as weed has existed, the good people at Jones have wondered ‘should weed be in the soda?’” Bohb Blair, CMO of Jones Soda, said. “I kid, but you know, recreational cannabis has been around for a while, including in Washington State, which is our home base. And so it's an area that's always intrigued us. We knew there was a huge brand fit, and it's only been recently that manufacturing capability and a lot of other things in the market have come around. Now is the right time for us to go into the cannabis space.”
The new line of drinks, called Mary Jones Cannabis Soda, debuted last June in California where it’s now sold in more than 275 dispensaries. The second wave of the launch comes this summer when dispensaries in Michigan and Nevada will start selling the product.
“One of the things that's beautiful about Michigan is how buttoned up Michigan is,” Blair said. “It requires a lot of regulatory testing for edible formats, and especially beverages. So we're right in the middle of all of our due diligence to get to market, so that we can be on shelves this summer and make sure everyone's enjoying these fine libations throughout all their summer parties.”
Four flavors will be available - berry lemonade, orange creme, green apple, and root beer. The product also comes in different strengths including 10mg sodas packaged in single-serve 12 oz glass bottles, and 100mg “tallboy” sodas packaged in 16 oz resealable, child-resistant, multi-serve cans. The new line also includes 100mg syrups packaged in 4 oz bottles.
“We've been having a lot of fun with our mixing syrups,” Blair said. “This really allows people to make mocktails, cocktails, infused things, pour it over ice cream. I mean, honestly, you haven't lived until you've drizzled orange creme syrup over ice cream and just watched it kind of come to life, both for body and mind.”
Given the popularity of the original Jones Soda drinks, Blair said there was a conscious effort to make sure children could not easily access the new line of cannabis-infused drinks.
“There are kind of three areas that you look at,” Blair said. “One is the packaging itself. All of these have child resistant tops, resealable. If it's a multi-serving device, just like you would see with medication or anything, it's actually beyond what alcohol does. Secondly, all of them are clearly marked, not just with the Mary Jones logo, but also with the regulatory marks of cannabis and things like that to call it out. But really importantly, the third is that the sales channels are discreet. You don't get these in the same stores that you get our mainline product. You get them in a dispensary, which is already an age-controlled environment and requires all sorts of other things. So we're really excited to participate in this industry and do it responsibly.”
Through the years, Jones Soda has become famous for bizarre flavors, but the company is also well-known for putting peoples photos on the bottle labels. Blair said this is an initiative that will continue with the cannabis-infused sodas.
“Right now, you can send in photos to be considered to be on the launch products for Michigan, and if our fans want to go to GoMaryJones.com, all the instructions are on there, how to send us photos, and we'd love to get your most outlandish and fun photos to feature on our bottles in Michigan. We're excited to embrace our fans in that way,” Blair said. “Pretty much every time we make another batch of soda, we go look for refreshing the photos, and so there's always a new chance to get involved. But if you want to be on that first line, you better get them in pretty quick.
Blair said the company is also launching a line of cannabis edibles which will include gummies and carbonated candy. To learn more, click here.
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