40 DECEMBER 8-14, 2022 westword.com WESTWORD | REAL ESTATE | RENTALS | HEALTH WELLNESS | SERVICES | EMPLOYMENT | ADULT | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | FIND MORE MARIJUANA COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/MARIJUANA Tincture Talk BY THOMAS MITC HELL Tinctures have been around almost as long as humans have been consuming cannabis, yet they still don’t get the shine they deserve. Unlike most edibles, the liquid extraction — which is intended for sublingual use — can be felt within minutes and offers more pre- cise cannabis dosing without the sugar and calories carried by gummies and chocolate bars. But how often do you see tinctures on display at dispensaries? A former medical marijuana provider and dispensary owner in Denver’s early days of commercial pot, Don Novak began making tinctures on the side. Sold on the potential of infused products early on, Novak left the dispensary business to launch several cannabis brands, but he never stopped making tinctures. His Colorado tincture label, ioVia, is now sold at medical and recreational dispensaries across the state, and Novak says that recreational interest is on a slow but steady uptick. To learn more about tinctures and what’s holding back their popularity, we caught up with the longtime cannabis businessman. Westword: How did you get started in the cannabis industry? Don Novak: It’s kind of wild to think about now, but we got our start in the regulated Colorado industry by providing mobile canna- bis services and sales for homebound medical marijuana patients. This was before you were required to sell from a dispensary. It was an incredible opportunity to deliver our products directly to those who needed them most. How did you end up making infused prod- ucts and tinctures? We’ve had an infused-products license since day one, and tinctures became a simple, effective solution for our patients who needed a more precise alternative to smoking. By fo- cusing our efforts on product development and distribution, we’ve been able to offer this kind of alternative to folks across the entire state of Colorado, and not just at a single retail location. Tinctures have been around a long time but have never become very popular in compari- son to candy edibles. Why do you think that is? Because sugar, probably! I think consumers like edibles because they provide a familiar ex- perience, and sweets are something that pretty much everyone can get behind. Tinctures have an older, more homeopathic reputation that we’ve become removed from in consumer culture. But if you use cannabis daily for pain, sleep or infl ammation, want more control over dosing and don’t want extra calories or other fi llers, then ioVia tinctures are a much better option at a better price per milligram. What are some benefi ts of tinctures that you like to highlight? Our award-winning Precision Dose Tinc- tures are made of two simple ingredients: cannabis extracts and coconut-derived MCT oils. They’re unfl avored, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free and free from any fi ller ingredi- ents. We prioritize precise formulations and clear dosing information to help ensure a consistent experience every time. We offer several different blends of cannabinoids that include THC, CBD and even CBN — which is great for rest and sleep. Our 200-milligram CBD tincture is a safe option for pets, as well. We really see a daily regimen of our tinc- tures as essential wellness. They’re designed for immediate relief as well as long-term supplementation. How long is tincture supposed to sit under the tongue? Do users often swallow a tincture by accident? For sublingual uptake, we recommend holding the tincture under the tongue for at least a minute. That’s the fastest and most ef- fi cient uptake method, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with swallowing our tinctures and using them as an edible. It takes longer to feel the effects, but you should feel those effects longer, because the MCT oil serves as a fat. One of the benefi ts of our fl avorless ap- proach is that you can add a preferred amount directly to a warm beverage or prepared food. Plenty of our customers prefer this method. Is there a missing recreational component to tinctures? Most of them seem to be marketed toward medical use. One big reason is the THC dosage limita- tions [of 100 milligrams of THC per product] on recreational sales. Tinctures are an ideal so- lution for users who need very large amounts of THC per serving, and we’re only able to offer those kinds of high-potency products on the medical side. This year we’ve actually sold three times as many recreational tinctures as medical tinctures, so there’s defi nitely an audience there. I just don’t think tinctures have become part of the public conversation in the same way that edibles or smokeables have. Do you think the average recreational dispensary shopper knows what a tincture is and how to use it? Product education has always been a huge focus for us. I think there’s a perception that tinctures are only for medicinal use, and that comes from both shoppers and budtenders. So we work hard to communicate the fl ex- ibility and ease of use that our tinctures offer. “Fast-acting” edibles are popping up more. As someone who sells tinctures, how do you feel about that? And how do you think these products compare to tinctures? I honestly think it’s fantastic to see new technologies coming into our industry, but I can’t really speak to how different of an experience those products might offer over a traditional sublingual approach. Everyone processes cannabis differently, so it’s impor- tant that consumers look past claims and try products for themselves to fi nd their best lifestyle fi t. Keep in mind that uptake speed is only one aspect of an ideal cannabis experi- ence. What we’ve learned over the last decade of serving cannabis consumers is that fi nding the right dosage and being able to count on a consistent experience is absolutely critical. And that’s what our customers have come to expect from ioVia Precision Dose Tinctures. Suggest future interview subjects at [email protected]. Tinctures have been an underrated consumption method since cannabis was legalized. COURTESY OF IOVIA MARIJUANA T O K E O F T H E T O W N WARNING: Use of Marijuana Concentrate may lead to: 1. Psychotic symptoms and/or Psychotic disorder (delusions, hallucinations, or difficulty distinguishing reality); 2. Mental Health Symptoms/Problems; 3. Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) (uncontrolled and repetitive vomiting); Cannabis use disorder / dependence, including physical and psychological dependence Programmatic Cannabis Network Organic & Local SEO • Website Design Social Media Management • Print Media Get started today with a FREE Digital Audit. marijuanamarketingxperts.com