Medical cannabis users can now enjoy a little Jimmy Buffet style cannabis with Coral Reefer brand.
To his fans, Jimmy Buffett is an icon of easy living. The king of beaches, bars, boats, and ballads is already a prolific businessman, having turned many of his infamous song titles into real business ventures. A world famous musician, author, record label executive, casino owner, brewer, and property developer, Jimmy Buffet is now adding cannabis entrepreneur to his diverse list of professional hats with the launch of his line of Coral Reefer cannabis products. The Coral Reefer Band, Buffett’s touring and recording back up band, inspired the name.
Floridian “parrotheads” (as Buffett calls his fans) were excited when he announced in a press release last September that the line of cannabis vape products would be available in Florida medical cannabis dispensaries. Buffett stated in the announcement, “It never dawned on me that Coral Reefer would be anything other than a cool name for a tropical band born out of the Key West lifestyle in the mid-70s. But life is supposed to be about having fun and staying healthy enough to enjoy it. I think Coral Reefer will help a lot of folks do that.”
2019 is an Exciting Time to be a Medical Cannabis Patient in Florida
Although Floridian voters passed medical cannabis legislation in 2016, starting the program has been frustratingly slow. One of the biggest roadblocks to safe access was a smoking ban on medical cannabis products. The ban was only just lifted in March 2019. With raw cannabis flower finally on dispensary shelves, medical cannabis patients in Florida enjoyed their first legal 4/20 this year.
Also launched just in time for cannabis’s international holiday, Coral Reefer products hit shelves on April 19th. The first products released include a surfboard-shaped vaporizer called the TideRider and a selection of pre-measured TideRider concentrate cartridges. The products cater to patients with diverse medical needs by providing a range of THC to CBD ratios.
Experimenting with various CBD to THC ratios can be the key to success for medical cannabis patients. The different active compounds in cannabis have different physical effects. So, some cannabinoid combinations are more effective for certain conditions than others. For example, studies show THC to be an effective appetite stimulant to address conditions like anorexia. Meanwhile, CBD works as an anticonvulsant to reduce seizures. And the most effective pain relief comes from both chemicals working together. Currently available products in the Coral Reefer line include cartridges with 1:4 CBD:THC, 4:1 CBD:THC, 1:1 CBD:THC, or 0:1 CBD:THC.
Other products are expected to launch in the Coral Reefer line later this year, including cannabis flower (that Florida patients can now smoke with pride) and edible products. This means patients can look forward to “nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake…” in 2019.
No Longer Wasting Away in Margaritaville
“Healthy” isn’t the term most people would use to describe Jimmy Buffett’s island lifestyle. While he still capitalizes on the success of his most famous songs, like “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, through his various businesses, the 72-year-old musician has long since given up his days of passing out on a beach with tequila in hand and a “Mexican cutie” by his side.
These days, the Son of a Son of a Sailor lives the healthy and productive lifestyle of a high-profile CEO rather than that of a beach bum. He avoids carbs, alcohol, and sugar. He shows off his paddleboarding skills on his Instagram. And he uses cannabis vape cartridges as a healthy way to wind down after work.
In the past 10 years, lawmakers and the mainstream media have begun to recognize that cannabis is healthier than alcohol. Cannabis is less addictive than alcohol, doesn’t increase your risk of cancer, and has not caused any lethal overdoses. People are already choosing it over alcohol in legalized regions. However, new evidence is still at odds with decades of stigma. Cultural figures like Jimmy Buffett publicly exchanging their “frozen concoctions” for herbal blends and healthy lifestyles are crucial to changing the public perception of cannabis.
Via Pot Stock News; Surterra Wellness
Patients Outside Florida Still Have to Wait for Coral Reefer Products
The brand launched in partnership with the Florida dispensary Surterra Wellness. Surterra has 23 locations across the state, so the new products will be easily available to Florida’s medical cannabis patients. To register as a patient, you must be a Florida resident with a qualifying condition.
Unfortunately due to the changing legal situation surrounding medical cannabis, Coral Reefer products are not available anywhere outside Florida, even in other states with medical cannabis programs. Florida does not currently have any reciprocal agreements with other states to accept Patient IDs or doctors’ recommendations for cannabis from out of state. Florida patients, however, can “get their hush-puppies on” and head down to the dispensary to try out the new line.
