In our never ending quest to find discrete ways to dose, we’re going to review Squeeze, by Curaleaf. This is a flavored water enhancer, like Mio, but with THC in it.
Remember our post about why medibles have fats in it – because THC is fat soluble and attaches itself to the oils and fats in your recipe, so your liver can metabolize it and give you that great feeling that only THC can deliver.
Innovations in chemistry have led to the development of water-soluble THC – and it’s really going to change a lot of things within the cannabis industry.
THC is a lipid with low solubility in water. A standard 10mg THC edible would require over three liters of water to dissolve. Let’s face it, we are not doing that. THC dissolves in alcohol and other lipids (fats). That’s why you have all of those tinctures and why butters and oils are so popular.
For those people who want to use medibles without the fats and tinctures without the alcohol, they are pretty limited. There are some beverages out there – all that is is an attempt to mix oil and water with some type of emulsifier in it. It leaves an aftertaste and a bit of a slimy feel in the mouth. Inevitably, these oils and water separate (kinda like that Italian dressing on the store shelves).
Molecular gastronomy and modern cuisine, along with some dedicated stoners and scientists have given us these new tools to dose with. It’s really quite fascinating to read up on. And I would encourage you to do that. I’m not going to get into the whole science of it. If you want to know, use The Google. If not, and you just want to thanks to Sweet Baby Jesus and marvel at what a time it is to be alive – you can have THC in your water bottle.
Now – here’s our legal disclaimer: ABSOLUTELY NO ONE SHOULD BE USING CANNABIS OUTSIDE OF THE LEGAL PARAMETERS SET DOWN BY LOCAL LAWS AND YOUR EMPLOYER’S RULES.
We don’t like having to say that, because it’s such a double standard. Sally Smith in accounting can pop as many fentanyl as she wants throughout the work day, and I put a few drops of tincture in my coffee, and I could be facing discipline. But, we digress. Johnny Jones can chain smoke on his breaks right under your office window without consequence. I can’t take a hit off of a vape to alleviate my back pain. 😡 *always simmering rage about medical marijuana patients being treated like criminals*
So, Curaleaf has gifted to the world these wonderful little water flavor enhancers. There are a variety of flavors. Lemon-Lime, Watermelon, Strawberry Lemonade and “Hint of Sweet” which isn’t really a flavor, but is made so that you can add a little sweetness to drinks you may not think of to dose THC. A diet soft drink comes to mind. For today, I chose the Strawberry Lemonade.
The dispenser bottle is a bit tough to get open. I had to fight with it. That’s actually one of my complaints about tinctures, too. Those dropper bottles are the devil to deal with. And when you are dealing with arthritis and other issues in your hands, getting into those things is awful.
Once you finally get it open, the center reservoir you see in there is exactly 1ml, so you can accurately dose – if that’s your style. I put .5ml into a 16.9oz water bottle. And the taste was definitely there. It’s not a necessarily strong – your socks just flew across the room – kind of taste, but you can taste it. Leading me to opine that you can microdose this throughout your day, with just a few drops.
Because it is water soluble, when you drink it, even though the product itself is not to be used sublingually, because you are drinking it in a beverage, it is almost immediately entering your bloodstream via those wonderful receptors under the tongue and throughout your entire mouth. Why is this such a great thing? Well, kids, because you can start feeling the effects of this drink (life?) enhancer in as little as 15 minutes.
It’s also clear, which I also like. I don’t really want my water to look like I’m drinking kool-aid at work. I know the mass produced water enhancers out there are rainbow colors. And I certainly enjoy their Watermelon-Strawberry flavor. But, you really don’t look like you are drinking anything except water. That can be huge for a lot of people.
The taste is very good – very crisp – without assaulting your tastebuds. It’s a 30ml bottle, for $30. So, it can be a little pricy if you choose to dose this way a lot. And to be honest, after reading a little bit about what goes into having to extract and manipulate chemically the THC, this is something that the Everything Is Better With Budder Kitchens aren’t going to be able to recreate.
Will this be an all the time purchase? Not even close to likely. If I’m going to dinner, if I’m going to the movies, if I’m going to a baseball game and I want to discretely dose without drawing attention to myself. Hell, yeah!! Bring it on, Baby!!
The THC euphoria comes on subtly, if you are only using a little at a time. I mean, if you dump an entire 1ml into a bottle of water and chug, you’re going to get hit like a ton of bricks. But, as I sit here, I’ve had .5ml and my entire bottle of water – and this is immediately after lunch, so my tummy is full, and I am feeling wonderfully buzzy. I can still feel my face. But, what I do feel is a nice, relaxing, calm throughout my body. My muscle spasms are definitely decreasing and easing up. My mind is still sharp, but I am not anxiety ridden. I am what I imagine people who don’t suffer from PTSD, anxiety and chronic pain feel like. In other words, I kind of almost feel what I felt like before I got hurt – before two diseases took over my body – before I learned what crippling depression, anxiety and PTSD can do.
All of that said, we do endorse this product, because of its innovation and ease of use. It’s portability and how discreet it is to use are huge. Whenever we come up with something in the EIBWB kitchens, we often remark “what a time to be alive” with all of these innovations in consuming cannabis. And, we thank Curaleaf®️ for this innovation. It’s exciting to see what is going to come next.
Hopefully – our sincerest hope – is that innovations in the cannabis world continue – especially with regard to the medicinal uses that it very obviously has.
Everything Is Better With Budder! 