If you were a cannabis consumer a decade ago (and beyond), the “shopping experience” wasn’t too complicated. You may have heard this phrase muttered by a parent before, “You get what you get and you don’t have a fit”. If you had a good hookup (or lived in California), there was whatever bud your plug had, and maybe some homemade edible options… Certainly, cannabis soda wasn’t a thing.
Today, the science, innovation, and sophistication being poured into the cannabis industry have brought a wave of products and therapeutic cannabinoid options like we’ve never seen before. They even come with classifiers like “whole flower”, “full-spectrum”, “broad-spectrum”, and more. That means that being a cannabis consumer today requires a little more at-home research to understand what each product contains and how that translates to a different experience.
When it’s time to choose your cannabis drink, we think a full-spectrum beverage is the right route to take. But what does full-spectrum mean? We know that THC drinks are a great alternative to booze – no hangovers, no risk of death via overconsumption, no mistaken belief you can sing karaoke… but does a full-spectrum cannabis beverage provide more benefits than other types?
When a beverage product is “full-spectrum”, it means that the substance has been made with all of the compounds found in the cannabis plant. That means that specific cannabinoids have not been isolated or removed – but rather that the compounds, cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids found in cannabis are infused into the drink.
Olala THC soda is a full-spectrum beverage infused with several compounds/cannabinoids (3) present in the cannabis plant, rather than just one cannabinoid, like THC or CBD. Full-spectrum cannabis drinks offer a well-rounded sesh and capture the flavors of the plant beautifully.
The cannabis plant contains numerous cannabinoids. There are two commonly used classifications for cannabinoids: major and minor cannabinoids. The majors include THC and CBD and the minors are some lesser-known but still highly beneficial cannabinoids like THCV and CBG. Olala’s cannabis drinks have CBD along with CBG, THCV, THCA, CBC, CBN, and more, but our famous giggly effects come from the THC.
Research has found that there are anywhere from 80–100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant and over 300 non-cannabinoid organic chemical compounds. All of these compounds are responsible for different effects in our bodies.
We’ve covered cannabinoids, but let’s not forget the terps. Terpenes are the aromatic compounds found in many different types of plants. Our lovely lady, cannabis, contains a high concentration of terpenes – over 120. Terpenes are present in full-spectrum products and since they demonstrate a variety of therapeutic properties, their presence in the Olala you’re about to pop open adds to its beneficial effects on your body.
There’s more. Olala’s full-spectrum sodas also contain flavonoids. Flavonoids are compounds that are responsible for flavor, odor, and pigmentation – and again, our favorite plant does not disappoint. In cannabis, there are more than 20 flavonoid compounds (1). Flavonoids are known for antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties and are highly beneficial to humans.
So, the next time you’re at the beach enjoying a cool buzzy high and the warm misty breeze, you’ll know that full-spectrum California cannabis drink in your hands is boosting your endocannabinoid system with a range of cannabinoids rather than ravaging your brain cells with harmful toxins- legit.
The kicker in this full-spectrum convo is a unique mechanism called the “entourage effect” (2). This is the concept that cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids work synergistically to produce a more impactful result, and therefore offer an overall better experience than consuming a single cannabinoid- like THC.
One way that the entourage effect benefits us is by allowing our bodies to experience the desired impacts longer and more thoroughly, so we can experience that full-body and mind kinda high. It also produces an anxiolytic (or anxiety-reducing) effect, which many people find enjoyable.
The reason why distillates and isolates only containing THC create such an intense, trippy high is that our body is only receiving the psychoactive sensations and not any of the other compounds that we associate with smoking whole flower. Full-spectrum cannabis gets us the closest to what nature intended – a high that embraces us in a holistic all-encompassing way.
This means that the full-spectrum cannabis infused into Olala beverages will have you vibin’ from major and minor cannabinoids, a range of terpenes, and rich flavonoids to give you the best overall experience.
Think of it like this… If you were to eat a handful of raw spinach, you may get the benefits of the spinach, but it’s limited to what’s in the spinach (maybe iron, Vitamin A and E). Now if you were to add that spinach to a cup with other antioxidant-rich superfoods, MCT oil, and vitamin-packed fruits and blend them together, not only are you getting a cocktail of healthy vitamins and minerals (aka essential nutrients), but the compounds work together to assist in absorption, heal damaged cells, boost your immune system, create energy, and much more. Plus, you won’t have to pick spinach out of your teeth.
So when you go to choose your cannabis beverage, think of full-spectrum like the immune-boosting nutrient-packed smoothie and isolated products like a handful of spinach – still good, just not great. Your body (and endocannabinoid system) is stoked to receive the full-spectrum benefits, so you can feel good about feeling good.
We just dropped a whole lot of knowledge, so here’s a summary of why drinking a full-spectrum cannabis beverage is the best route to take:
We know that an ice-cold, cannabis soda can do the trick after a long day of shredding the slopes/waves/or bomb-worthy hills (or after staring into the abyss of a never-ending spreadsheet *cringe*). That elated, soothing, jam-packed full-spectrum high is brought to you in tropical flavors like Blue Raspberry, Guava, Orange Cream, and Mango. Our drinks are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, and provide a balanced high sourced from sun-grown, California cannabis. Add a fizzy punch of carbonation, and you’ve got the best California cannabis drink on the market. Drink it with friends or enjoy it solo, either way, you’re getting lifted in good company. Find Olala near you.
