Yes, those THC-laced brownies at new Las Olas bakery are legal

A new bakery on Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard sells brownies, cookies and other treats infused with a version of the hemp-derived psychoactive ingredient THC, which may be the only business of its kind in the country.

Specializing in baked goods containing low doses of Delta-8 THC, Mama Munchies Hemp Café was opened three weeks ago at 1221 E. Las Olas Blvd. by Miami natives Stefan Guarch, 27, and Edgar Cohen, 29. The duo are among the few companies in Florida operating with a hemp food establishment permit, which the state began issuing last year.

Out of a bright and colorful storefront on the funkier end of Las Olas, Mama Munchies offers its treats in 5-, 10- and 25-milligram doses of Delta-8 THC, but also has 2.5-milligram items for those just starting out.

Along with coffee and other beverages, there are four main menu items so far: a brownie, two cookies (sugar and chocolate chip) and a Rice Krispie treat. Prices for each are $11.75 for 5 milligram, $14.75 for 10 milligram and $16.75 for 25 milligram. They also sell croissants and other items with no THC.

If all goes according to plan, Guarch and Cohen will have Mama Munchies locations open in downtown Delray Beach and in Miami’s Brickell district by the end of the year.

Guarch says that, depending on your body weight and chemistry, a 5-milligram Mama Munchies brownie is likely produce an “elevated” effect — more noticeable than the ubiquitous and relatively nonintoxicating CBD, but less intense than marijuana. The effect starts after about 30 minutes and can last up to six hours.

He describes the experience as an uplifting, clear-headed vibe, without the anxiety and sleepiness of a pot high.

“You do get a body high and a head high,” says Guarch, who does the baking. “It’s comparable to about two glasses of wine.”

What is Delta-8 THC?

Delta-8 THC is one of more than 100 cannabinoid compounds found in the cannabis plant, which include CBD and Delta-9 THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

A cannabis plant that has more than .3 percent Delta-9 THC is marijuana; the same plant with less than .3 percent of Delta-9 THC is called hemp. Both CBD, the natural remedy found everywhere from health-food stores to smoke shops, and Delta-8 THC come from hemp.

The federal Farm Bill enacted in 2018 legalized the commercial use of hemp and derivative products as long as they met the established definition of hemp: no more than .3 percent of Delta-9 THC.

The Farm Bill did not specifically recognize Delta-8 THC. The National Institutes of Health acknowledges its effects as having “a lower psychotropic potency than Delta-9.”

Fort Lauderdale attorney Dustin Robinson, who specializes in cannabis law and represents Mama Munchies, says Delta-8 THC was little understood when the Farm Bill was drafted in 2018 and is only now starting to reach its potential as a commercial product.

According to a survey published this month by Hemp Industry Daily, Delta-8 THC is gaining favor among consumers, but represented only 3 percent of cannabinoids cultivated by growers in 2020, compared to 80 percent for CBD.

“The way the federal government defines hemp, which is legal federally, vs. marijuana, which is illegal, is that .3 percent Delta-9 THC. What they neglected to account for when drafting this legislation is Delta-8 THC, a different cannabinoid that also has a somewhat psychoactive effect as well,” Robinson says.

“I think they just overlooked that there’s perhaps hundreds of cannabinoids. The only one they were concerned about was Delta-9 THC. But there’s CBD, CBG, Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10. Delta-10 is probably the next hot cannabinoid that I’m hearing a buzz about,” Robinson says. “The future of cannabis is treating each of these cannabinoids as different types of ingredients.”

Downward doses

When the pandemic took hold last spring, Guarch and Cohen had been experimenting with the use of Delta-8 THC for Guarch’s grandmother, who was suffering from anxiety and depression. That led to a business baking and selling infused cookies wholesale at about 35 smoke shops in Miami.

“Owners kept asking us to up the milligrams. We personally didn’t feel comfortable with it. That’s not what we’re trying to go for. So we pulled everything and opened this shop,” Guarch says.

Attorney Robinson says a retail store using Delta-8 THC in baked goods is unique.

“I sit in the center of the cannabis industry and I’ve yet to see something like it,” Robinson says.

Guarch and Cohen say they chose Fort Lauderdale for the first Mama Munchies because the area felt more accepting of the product than Miami’s Latin communities, where cannabis carries a stigma. They anticipated having most clientele in their 20s, and have been surprised at how many customers have been older, some into their 80s.

“We educate them as much as we can on what it is,” Cohen says, stressing that they emphasize micro-doses. “At a smoke shop, they sell on the higher dose, the fact that you’re gonna get high.”

With a yoga mat rolled under her arm, Wilton Manors resident Keegan Mills stopped at Mama Munchies early Wednesday afternoon, leaving with a 10-milligram Rice Krispie treat. Mills, 42, works for a corporate wellness company and had just finished recording a yoga and meditation video at nearby Colee Hammock Park.

“I was just looking for a little treat, to relax, wind down,” says Mills, 42, who first visited the shop shortly after it opened. “It’s super relaxing, allows you to chill out. It’s just a nice settling into your body. I’m having a relaxing day and just wanted a little treat.

“It feels like a glass of wine without the effects of wine, without the hangover or ... a headache,” she says. “I don’t drink alcohol, so it’s nice to have an alternative.”

Guarch believes we are at the dawn of a new business model for cannabinoids, aided by advances in the science of extracting compounds such as Delta-8 THC from the hemp plant that have made it commercially viable.

He also cites changes in social and political opinion, illustrated by the 2018 Farm Bill and the Florida Department of Agriculture authorizing hemp-extract food permits in 2020.

He likens it to bars opening after the Prohibition years, when illegal, unregulated, poor-quality alcohol was all you could get.

“People haven’t been able to go to a safe place to consume hemp and cannabis. People are ready for it,” he says. “At end of Prohibition, there was a bars system and licenses for that. You know what you’re getting here. We use very exact doses. And we provide the atmosphere.”

Mama Munchies Café is at 1221 E. Las Olas Blvd. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday. Call 305-894-9452 or visit EatMamaMunchies.com.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com.