The perception of marijuana is changing rapidly as more states acknowledge and push for the legalization of both medicinal and recreational use. As its legalization expands, you’ll start to see more marijuana products pop up throughout the country. One category of marijuana products is rapidly growing in popularity: drinkable THC! Sodas, lemonade, tonics, and more are becoming available and can be enjoyed with a meal or on their own. In today’s product review, I’ll be checking out the Mango Tropical Storm beverage by Green Revolution. This potent blend features a 20:1 ratio of CBD to THC, and I’m curious how this unique combination plays out in a cannabis-infused drink. But first, a word about what cannabis is and what exactly THC drinkables are. Join me on my journey through this new category and ultimately decide if this form of cannabis is right for you!
What Is Cannabis, Exactly?
While many people equate cannabis to marijuana, cannabis is actually the mother plant of both marijuana and hemp. Marijuana contains a substantial amount of Delta-9 THC (more than 0.3% THC), the cannabinoid responsible for getting the user high but is currently going through a fierce legal debate for both medicinal and recreational use. Hemp, on the other hand, contains only trace amounts of THC (0.3% or less) and is considered legal on a federal level. Hemp-derived cannabinoids contain psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabinoids, some of which you may already be familiar with (CBD and Delta-8 THC are the most famous).
Marijuana is categorized into three types, also called strains: indica (known for its deeply sedating effects), sativa (popular for its uplifting and creative effects), and hybrid (a combination of the two). These strains are incorporated into a variety of products that are either edible or inhalable. Yet there’s a new type of product on the market that might just be the middle ground you’ve been searching for: drinkable THC!
Drinkable THC: The Cannabis Product You’ve Been Waiting For
Both edibles and inhalables have their own unique pros and cons. Edibles take longer to kick in but the high can last for hours. Edibles are also more tasty to consume, usually in a soft and chewy gummy or a decadent home-baked treat. In contrast, inhalables kick in almost instantly (usually 5 minutes at most) but the high is short-lived and fades away after about an hour or two. Inhalables also have a bit of a learning curve, meaning you’ll have to have some prior knowledge of smoking/vaping and different inhalation techniques.
And then there’s THC’s newest category: drinkables. Drinkable THC is unique in that it can replace ordinary beverages that can help mask the bitter flavor of marijuana. Some are carbonated, some are fruit-flavored, but the end result is always the same…it gets you high! Drinkable THC (along with other marijuana-infused products) is usually limited to states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana within that state, meaning you won’t be able to purchase this type of product online. If you’re fortunate to live in a state that sells cannabis-enhanced beverages, your experience with THC is about to get a lot more enjoyable!
The Green Revolution Brand
In the spirit of revolting against the negative connotation surrounding marijuana, The Green Revolution brand offers both CBD and THC products. But there is a catch; in order to even view the THC products, you’ll have to select either Washington or California. THC products from the Green Revolution Brand (and any brand that carries marijuana-infused products) are not available for sale online. After a moment of deliberation, I selected the Washington option. It took the site a few seconds to load, but the products available were beautifully displayed with professional photos and calming pastel colors. There is a “Order Pickup” for consumers to place an order at a location nearby (just enter the zip code).
I clicked on the “Products” tab and selected “Cannabis Drinks” from the drop-down tab. Rather than just displaying rows of cannabis drinks, a full-blown informative section was displayed that included what cannabis drinks are, their benefits, consumption advice, and reasons to use them. I quickly skimmed this section and continued scrolling until I found what I was looking for: the Wildside beverages option. There are seven flavors available, each with a small icon in the top right hand corner that denotes if the effects are “Chill”, “Relief”, “Fly”, or “Elevate.” Depending on the type of high you desire, these little icons can help you decide which flavor to choose. I encourage you to explore the site in its entirety, but for now I’ll focus on the flavor of today’s review: the Mango Tropical Storm. This particular beverage has a 20:1 CBD:THC ratio. Since the bottle size I’ll be reviewing is a 17oz, this means that the 200mg CBD + 10mg THC + 10mg CBG. There are two different strength options for this flavor, so be sure to read the label carefully before completing your purchase. The Mango Storm CBD option I’ll be reviewing today is marketed for “Relief” and has the lower of the two THC strengths. I”m excited to see what this option tastes and feels like, so let’s jump into the full-blown review of this intriguing cannabis-infused beverage!
Wildside Mango Tropical Storm Product Review
I’ve always been a fan of tropical flavors, especially mango. I was excited to see how this fruit inclusion would translate in a cannabis-enhanced beverage. In a previous review I did on Ray’s Strawberry Lemonade, there was almost no detectable flavor of bitter marijuana. I was hoping for the same with Green Revolution’s WIldside Mango and eagerly tore off the plastic seal and unscrewed the plastic cap. I held the bottle to my nose and was overjoyed to smell a rich ripe mango scent. I would liken the overall scent as mango with a hint of apricot and tropical fruit salad. I noted the markings on the side of the bottle and poured out a third of the bottle into my waiting glass, slightly more than the recommended dosage. The color of the beverage was surprisingly light with a milky white hue. A very light froth from the carbonation settled quickly and my mouth began to water in anticipation. I brought the beverage to my lips and after a moment of savoring the fruity scent, I took my first sip.
The Initial Consumption
Whatever expectations I had when smelling the drink were instantly dashed upon my initial consumption. While the carbonation was mild, the flavor was immediately unpleasant and had me instantly reaching for a bottle of water to rid my mouth of the taste. The mango flavor was light in the beginning but was quickly overshadowed by the strong and bitter flavor of the weed. In fact, the taste of marijuana was extremely similar to how it smells when smoked. There was a bitter aftertaste that intensified rapidly and lingered on my teeth and tongue after swallowing. I was glad to finally finish the small portion and immediately had to brush my teeth to rid my mouth of any traces of the offending flavor. I made a mental note of the time and settled in to await the effects.
After about an hour, I only felt slightly buzzed. There was a very light dizziness coupled with a faint tingling that was relaxing and pleasant. My eyes didn’t feel droopy or heavy and I felt remarkably awake and alert. I had a very light dry mouth which was quickly pacified with a few sips of water, and let me tell you, water never tasted so good! I felt warm and relaxed but not an overwhelming heady high that left me feeling locked to my couch or mind-numbingly hazy. Overall, it was an extremely light high that felt like it could have been stronger but was limited due to the low amount of THC consumed. I went to bed feeling a little disappointed in the high but promised I would take more the following evening.
The Second Attempt
When I was ready for my second attempt the following night, I decided to read the label a bit more carefully. This is where I discovered that instead of 10mg of THC per serving, there was 10mg of THC in the entire bottle! That meant that only drinking a third of the bottle in my initial consumption, I had only taken 3mg of THC in total. No wonder the high hadn’t been as strong as I wanted! Sighing at my mistake, I poured out the remaining liquid into my glass. According to the bottle’s serving chart on the label, there was about 7mg of THC remaining. I decided to add some ice to the liquid to see if it tasted better chilled. The flavor was a bit more bearable when it was cold, but there was still a very bitter weed flavor that masked almost all of the tropical mango flavor. I downed the liquid as quickly as I could to get it over with and immediately rinsed my mouth with water. Since the effects started to kick in the previous night after about an hour, I knew I had some time to wait.
The high took a bit longer this time, perhaps because of my previous THC consumption the previous night. I started to feel something after about an hour but it was noticeably (and thankfully) stronger. I experienced waves in the high where it seemed to be getting stronger but would always settle into a comfortable and relaxed state. There was a light tingling in my hands, arms, and face and my eyelids felt slightly droopy but not enough to make me want to close them completely. I noticed that I felt warm and slightly drowsy, but not so much that I was unable to focus or wanted to retire to my bed. There was a noticeable tickling in my chest and throat that made me feel a bit itchy (almost like a mild allergic reaction) and I found myself coughing sporadically. I felt a bit dizzy and disoriented, as if the room was spinning. Yet this was quite pleasurable and I noticed a hazy cloud descend upon my senses. I experienced a delightful enhancement to my sense of touch and taste. The high seemed to peak at the 90 minute mark and I felt incredibly warm and relaxed. The familiar sensation of a weighted blanket descended upon me and I was comfortably drowsy and peaceful. It felt almost like I was sleeping with my eyes open, and time seemed to slow down. After about 3 hours, I managed to break out of the couch lock long enough to make it to my bed. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately and was able to sleep soundly throughout the night. Upon waking, I did not feel any lingering effects or need to shake off the mental cobwebs of the night before. Overall, I was much more satisfied with the effects of the second attempt compared to the low THC amount of the first attempt.
Product Packaging & Lab Testing
Green Revolution’s Wildside Mango Tropical Storm came in a tall slim 17oz bottle that would have been clear if not for the label that wrapped around it. The label was decorated beautifully with freshly cut mangos, a bright red portion that effectively sealed the cap, and a green stripe that cut across the whole bottle to distinguish it as a “relief” type of beverage (side note: I noticed that on the company website this same stripe was purple for “chill”, blue for “elevate”, and yellow for “fly”).
The label was covered in small badges that showed it was not intended for children, only for consumers 21+, contained CBD, and two different badges stating that the effects were nano and fast acting. The bottom of the label (the part I misread) stated that the CBD: THC ratio was 20:1, contained 10 servings in the 17oz bottle, and had a total cannabinoid content of 200mg of CBD, 10mg of THC, and 10mg of CBG. Directly to the right of this was a clear stripe down the label with small markings that displayed the numbered servings ( 1 servings, 2 servings, 3 servings, etc.). A lengthy nutrition facts label was placed next to the serving chart along with a detailed ingredients list. The company’s social media platforms and company website was listed directly below this along with recycling instructions and a badge stating the beverage was GMO free.
The left of the bottle contained a direct copy-and-paste description from the company website of the product description. A little text box beneath this section showed information that I had completely overlooked in my initial consumption: how much of each cannabinoid was in each serving. There were two cautionary warnings not to operate motor vehicles and that the effects may take up to 2 hours to fully kick in. Lastly, there was a sticker placed directly on the bottle that had a QR for scanning the lab results, a manufacture date, a best by date, and even the extraction method (ethanol)! The amount of information on the label was shocking and I only wish I had taken the time to read it more thoroughly before taking my initial sip!
Conclusion
Green Revolution’s Wildside Mango Tropical Storm was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. I was so excited to try the flavor based on the initial scent but was brutally disappointed with the intense bitterness (both from the first sip and the linger aftertaste) from the weed, despite having a low THC content. My initial high was very smooth but not at all what I was hoping for since I’d rushed through reading the bottle and ultimately only consumed 3mg of THC. The second attempt was much better with 7mg of THC, and the high was smooth and deeply relaxing, just what I needed after a long day. I was delighted to experience the rich euphoria and sedating effects from the second consumption.
While I can only assume that consuming the entire bottle of 10mg may have been more intense, I’m thankful to have experienced both ends of the spectrum with a very light high from 3mg versus an intense high with just 7mg. If you can make it past the unpleasant flavor of mango mixed with incredibly bitter weed, I’m confident you’ll enjoy the effects as much as I did. Despite this flavor not meeting my expectations, I can only wonder what the other flavors taste like (especially the Summer Peach and Pink Grapefruit!) and I look forward to trying more from the Green Revolution Brand.
My next product review will be returning to the Mirth Provisions brand, once again from the Legal subbrand: the Blackberry Lemonade! I don’t see this flavor listed on the Mirth Provisions website, so perhaps we’ll be getting a first glimpse or a final look at a discontinued flavor. But regardless of why it’s not listed, I’m excited to sample this fruit and lemonade flavored beverage and experience the effects in all its glory. I hope you’ll join me as I continue to explore the multitude of brands that carry THC drinkables and other exciting cannabinoid-enhanced products. Until we meet again!
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