Mary Jones is the newest brand under Jones Soda to sell cannabis-infused drinks, gummies, and syrups. Though cannabis is federally illegal, Jones Soda has found a loophole around it.
Jones Soda marketing chief Bohb Blair says, “We’re a small player in soda, but we’re going to be the biggest national player when it comes to a recognizable [consumer-packaged goods] name in cannabis.” The most significant competitors of Jones Soda include Pepsi and Coco-Cola.
Mary Jones will launch in California on April 1, where cannabis is legal. CNBC says, “According to Blair, nearly a third of adult Californians shop in dispensaries, creating a huge market for the products.”
This isn’t the first time a drink has crossover to another field. Pepsi is adding a Hard Mountain Dew, adding alcohol to Mountain Dew. Coco-Cola also launched an alcohol-based lemonade, calling it Simply Spiked Lemonade. The new drink launches this summer and will feature 5% of alcohol in Lemonade, Blueberry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Lemonade.
Blair continues, “If we crack it in California, we’re going to do gangbusters as we go through the Midwest and East.” The company is looking to expand nationwide eventually with cannabis-infused drinks.
CNBC reports, “The initial launch will include four different product lines: 12-ounce bottles of soda infused with 10 milligrams of cannabis; 16-ounce cans of soda infused with 100 milligrams of cannabis; syrup designed to mix with other drinks or on food with 1000 milligrams of cannabis per bottle; and gummies infused with five milligrams of cannabis, shaped like mini Jones Soda bottles.”
Blair also concluded that Mary Jones is a clear play on “Mary Jane,” the common nickname of marijuana.
