These Cannabis-Infused Chocolates Are Among First to Be Made in New Jersey

DAVID LITTLE, CENTER, PRESIDENT OF JERSEY CANNA, WITH VICE PRESIDENT/SALES & MARKETING DAN SILVER, LEFT; AND SALES MANAGER RIC FLATTES, RIGHT.

More chocolate changes hands in February than any other month, and this year, chocolate maker David Little is adding a twist to the mix. Little’s new company, Jersey Canna, is among the Garden State’s first manufacturers of cannabis-infused chocolate edibles and, at press time, they were in the final stages before distribution could begin.

In November 2020, when the Garden State gave the nod for recreational-use dispensaries to join the medicinal retailers that had been open since 2012, a rush of soon-to-be sellers lined up. But as Little explains, getting into the cannabis business in this state takes a lot more than filling out a single form. “We are already approved to manufacture, now we are waiting for recipe approval,” he says.

“Every state is its own island in cannabis,” says Little, Jersey Canna’s president, who has educated himself on marijuana laws in the Garden State and beyond. To be a state-authorized New Jersey-licensed edible maker, the marijuana must be grown, extracted, processed and sold in the state. According to Little, Jersey Canna will be the first all-Jersey operation. “Made by all Jersey people,” he notes, adding that there will even be Jersey-inspired flavors like blueberry.

While Jersey-made edibles are a new introduction to dispensaries in this state, Little’s Jersey Canna brings a wealth of experience to the fore.

“All edibles are not created equally,” he cautions. “Smoking weed is instantaneous, a cheap way to deliver THC, and smoking burns off some of the impurities. It is not as risky as eating an edible. Chocolate makes the THC more bioavailable because edibles travel to your stomach and then the liver before entering the brain and bloodstream. You see edibles everywhere, but gas-station and convenience-store products aren’t likely state approved. There’s a big knockoff market, and you take some risk buying them.” By comparison, Little’s chocolates are individually dosed candies that make it easy to control your intake.

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