Company To Offer First Medical Marijuana Certified As Kosher

[zachw]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A New York company says it will soon offer the first certified kosher medical pot.

 

Vireo Health says its non-smokable medical cannabis products have been certified as conforming to the Jewish dietary law by the Orthodox Union.

 

Vireo says it's the first time a medical cannabis product has been deemed kosher.

 

The Orthodox Union says it awarded certification after inspecting Vireo's facilities to ensure the marijuana was grown and processed according to kosher standards. Those include, for example, insect-free plants.

 

Vireo says the certification will help the company serve patients among New York's Jewish population, the nation's largest. Its program is slated to start next month and will serve patients in New York state with certain qualifying conditions.

 

 

Link here (edited, better source)

Edited December 31, 2015 by zachw

[trichcycler]

any ideas of what makes cannabis kosher or not ?  this is interesting, I am not jewish

[zachw]

any ideas of what makes cannabis kosher or not ?  this is interesting, I am not jewish

 

There are two issues. 

 

1) Medibles, which is a kosher concern due to other ingredients but NOT cannabis.

2) Bugs. Eating bugs is a big no-no. (EVERYONE eats bug parts but it's a major kosher problem if the bugs are whole.) Not sure if smoking bugs comes into play at all.

 

Lots of folks feel that it's just a way for the certification companies to make money, since they regularly certify things that absolutely, positively, do not require any supervision (such as bottled water & aluminum foil.) But they'll just say they only responding to "consumer demand"...

Edited January 15, 2016 by zachw

[trichcycler]

thank you