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FILE--In
this
Aug. 8,
2018,
file
photo,
bottles
of Coca
Cola sit
on a
shelf in
a market
in
Pittsburgh.
The
Coca-Cola
Company
says
that
it's
"closely
watching"
the
growth
of the
use of a
non-psychoactive
element
of
cannabis
in
wellness
drinks.
(Photo:
Gene J.
Puskar,
AP) |
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Coca-Cannabis?
Coke
analyzing
cannabis
in
wellness
drinks
By
GILLIAN
FLACCUS
APNews.com
The
statement
came
after
reports
the
beverage
giant
was in
talks
with a
Canadian
cannabis
company
to
create a
health
drink
infused
with
cannabidiol,
a
naturally
occurring
non-psychoactive
compound
derived
from the
cannabis
plant.
Shares
of the
company,
Aurora
Cannabis
Inc.,
closed
up
nearly
17
percent
on the
Toronto
Stock
Exchange
after
the
report.
Spokespeople
for the
companies
declined
to
comment
on the
report
but
acknowledged
their
interest
in that
segment
of the
cannabis
market.
Cannabidiol,
or CBD,
does not
produce
the high
commonly
associated
with
marijuana.
It is
believed
by many
to have
anti-inflammation
and
pain-relieving
properties,
and
numerous
CBD-infused
products
have
emerged
recently.
Aurora
spokeswoman
Heather
MacGregor
said her
company
“has
expressed
specific
interest
in the
infused-beverage
space
and we
intend
to enter
that
market.”
A
Coke
spokesman
said the
beverage
giant
has made
no such
decision.
“Along
with
many
others
in the
beverage
industry,
we are
closely
watching
the
growth
of
non-psychoactive
CBD as
an
ingredient
in
functional
wellness
beverages
around
the
world.
The
space is
evolving
quickly,”
Coke
spokesman
Kent
Landers
said.
Coke’s
interest
is
another
indication
of the
growing
acceptance
of
cannabis
by
established
companies
and of
the
importance
of
Canada
to the
development
of those
businesses.
Marijuana
becomes
legal
across
Canada
on Oct.
17.
Cannabis
companies
from the
U.S. —
where
marijuana
remains
illegal
at the
federal
level —
have
flocked
to
Canada
to raise
funds
and
establish
businesses
there.
American
companies
interested
in
making a
play in
the
cannabis
space
can try
things
out in
Canada
without
risking
doing
something
illegal
at home.
Constellation
Brands,
a giant
spirits
company
that
counts
Corona
beer
among
its
labels,
bought a
multibillion-dollar
minority
stake in
Canopy
Growth,
a
Canadian
medical
marijuana
producer.
Coca
Cola’s
statement
shows
the
company
has
learned
from its
past
missteps
picking
up on
new
drink
trends,
said Ali
Dibadj,
a senior
analyst
at
AllianceBernstein
with an
expertise
in U.S.
beverage
and
snack
food
companies.
“The
company
has been
caught
flat-footed
in the
past in
not
keeping
up with
trends
in
beverages.
They
missed
the
energy
drink
phenomenon,
they
missed —
and then
had to
buy into
— the
functional
waters
like
Vitamin
Water
and
coffee,”
Dibadj
said. “I
think
what
they’re
saying
is what
they
should
be
saying
on this
very new
and
emerging
beverage.”
But
testing
the
waters
of
cannabis-themed
drinks
could
backfire,
he said.
Many
Americans
aren’t
intimately
familiar
with the
cannabis
plant
and
might
not
understand
that CBD
has no
psychoactive
properties.
Hemp
and
marijuana
are both
cannabis
plants,
and both
contain
CBD,
which
can be
extracted
as an
oil that
can be
added to
everything
from dog
food to
hand
lotion
to
drinks.
“I
think
you have
to be
very,
very
careful
with
this as
a large
brand.
There
are
different
viewpoints
on a
product
category,
and you
don’t
want to
offend
too
much,”
Dibadj
said.
“You
don’t
want to
be too
far
ahead on
any
curve.”
____
Flaccus
is a
member
of AP’s
marijuana
beat
team.
Follow
her on
Twitter
at
https://twitter.com/gflaccus.
Follow
complete
AP
marijuana
coverage:
https://apnews.com/tag/LegalMarijuana
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