Welcome to Baked Science, a new series of cannabis-infused edible reviews featuring test results from SC Labs.
A relative newcomer to the cannabis scene, Miss Mary Jane’s Edibles started distributing baked goods to medical marijuana patients in October 2014, mostly in Southern California. With patriotic branding and a buxom cartoon blonde on the packaging, Miss Mary Jane’s label references their origin story—that of a Texan baker whose husband served as a private security contractor during wartime, only to return home with PTSD.
The company devotes time and energy to veteran’s issues, and it’s refreshing to see a business with an integrated social justice component. With a few small adjustments, the packaging could better convey the message that every Whoopie Pie purchased somehow benefits veterans who need medical marijuana.
The Churro Whoopie Pie could use more label information and dosage advice for new users. Simply stating the THC content is good, but adding dosage advice is better. The label claims 70 mg of THC, so a statement like “Consume no more than one quarter of the whoopie pie and wait two hours to see how it affects you” would be helpful.
One half of this treat would be 35 milligrams of THC, more than three times what the state of Colorado recommends as a dose, so including a statement like “7 doses of 10 mg THC each” would also allow consumers to make a more informed decision about how much to eat.
As always, it’s important to find an appropriate dose in a satisfying portion size, which varies for each individual. The Churro Whoopie Pie is so delicious that I can’t imagine anyone being able to resist another piece, even if they had cut it into four quarters. I would recommend this edible only for experienced patients accustomed to high doses of THC, and I would encourage new users, or those seeking a lighter dose, to try the six-pack of miniature whoopie pies dosed at 40 mg each (and cut it in quarters).
The label also states “For ingredients and full nutritional information, please visit our website,” but I didn’t find any additional advice on dosage, safety, allergy warnings, nutritional facts or ingredient lists there, which would be an extremely helpful addition.
I tried this edible on two separate occasions, with a second trial to validate my first experience.
On a recent Sunday, at 8:21 p.m., I consumed about three-quarters of the Churro Whoopie Pie, with my husband eating the remainder. It was fantastic, moist and fresh, with cinnamon sugar coating the outside and a creamy filling in the middle. There’s a slight cannabis flavor but the cinnamon works nicely to complement the ganja.
A little over one hour later, at 9:45 p.m., I was only slightly beginning to feel the dose, with my vision becoming more vibrant. By 10 p.m., I was definitely high enough to settle in and watch a movie, and 15 minutes later, I had incredible cottonmouth and heavy eyelids. By 10:30 p.m., slightly more than two hours after ingestion, I was very high and felt as if I had eaten more than the 50 to 55 milligrams of THC I had anticipated. (And Super Troopers was ridiculously funnier than I remembered!) Despite eating a much smaller dose, my husband was also higher than he wanted to be, leading to a few moments of anxiety.
While there was no indication of what cannabis variety had been used to infuse this edible, the experience felt mentally intense, much more like a Sativa edibles experience than a relaxing Indica one. After falling asleep that hilarious night, I overslept and had trouble waking the next day, remaining in bed until noon. My body felt wonderful and well rested, but I had missed a half-day of work.
Not everyone can call in to their boss and say, “Sorry, I got way too high last night, but I’ll work late tonight to make up for it.”
For my second trial with the Whoopie Pie, I wanted to confirm the unusual effects I had felt during the first experience, which was intense but pleasurable. Starting earlier in the day, I ingested only one-half of the Churro Whoopie Pie at 5:52 p.m. and went to the beach. By 6:46 p.m., I was starting to feel pretty high, with my field of vision sharpening. At 7:05 p.m. I noted feeling “fuzzy, relaxed, cozy and contented,” and at 7:24 p.m., I engaged in an immersive cuddling session with my dog, unable to converse normally with my husband but nonetheless enjoying the trip.
A little over two hours after ingestion, at 7:53 p.m., the high seemed to have plateaued, leaving me in a nice place that wasn’t overwhelming. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and I was able to sleep normally and wake up on time. However, I did feel that the experience was definitely more intense than what 35 milligrams of THC usually does to my body and mind.
Cannabinoid testing conducted by SC Labs confirmed what I had suspected. The dose was much larger than stated on the label. Total THC content surpassed the label claim by an additional 42 percent. The Whoopie Pie contained 99.87 milligrams of THC total, along with 3.9 g of THCa, resulting in 103.78 THC as reported by the lab.
There was also a considerable amount of CBD present, 8.86 mg, and a relatively large amount of CBN, 7.56 mg. CBD creates a feeling of body relaxation, somewhat counterbalancing the anxiety that high levels of THC can cause, while CBN is a sedative, explaining my trouble waking up after the first trial.
During my first experience with the Whoopie Pie, I had been anticipating about 50 to 55 milligrams of THC from eating three quarters, but I had actually ingested more like 75 mg. My husband, thinking he was just eating about 17 – 20 mg, had consumed about 25 mg of THC. Eating only half of the Whoopie Pie for my second experience was more manageable, but thinking you’re eating 35 mg when it’s really 50 mg could lead a new user to a difficult place mentally and physically.
Obviously, it’s important for the well-being and safety of your customers to deliver only the dose they are expecting. While it’s usually better to have more of something than not enough, overdosing on too much THC is the rare exception. Consuming too much THC can cause feelings of anxiety, panic and disorientation, especially for people who have had little to no experience consuming edible cannabis.
Miss Mary Jane’s Edibles creates beautiful, tasty, potent products, but they will need to dial in their dosage formula to ensure consistency and predictability for their customers. If Sativa strains are being used, it’s important to label the edible as such, since using either exclusively Indicas or Sativas to infuse products will have markedly different experiential results. With a few improvements, including more informative packaging with dosage advice, this product would be on my favorites list!
