No, this isn’t an Onion article.
Three separate marijuana retailers in Washington State reported that carbonated cannabis-infused sodas in glass bottles have exploded at random in their stores, littering the shops with glass and sticky, THC-infused residue.
Zach Henifin, the manager of Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham, told a Washington TV station that “It sounded like a shotgun going off.”
The infused pomegranate-flavored sodas, produced by Mirth Provisions, were also reportedly blowing up at Main Street Marijuana and New Vansterdam in Vancouver.
The incidents highlight how businesses are still working out the kinks in a brand new marijuana market, where many companies are learning from trial and error.
Mirth founder Adam Stites said the problem was likely created by too much yeast in the sodas, which led to excess carbon dioxide that caused the explosions.
“Sometimes when you’re creating new products in a new marketplace there’s a little bit of a learning curve and that’s what we’ve experienced,” Stites told Komo News.
Still, the exploding sodas could create other issues, particularly if a customer or retail store employee is injured. And Mirth is now in a dispute with one of the stores over who should destroy the remaining sodas.
