Oregon’s Novelty Edibles With a Touch of Whimsy

One of the beautiful things about cannabis legalization is the opportunity to make whimsical ideas a reality.

Oregon has been quick to turn its fantasies into commodities. Standards like flower and stony baked goods are represented in full force, and now the long-tail, whimsical, and niche products are coming online for consumers.

Built right into the word whimsy is “whim,” and Oregon’s edibles manufactures have been exploring their whims at a fast pace.

Below are a number of infused foods we never thought we’d see IRL—from Pop Rocks-styled exploding candies to luxurious cashew butters and couch-night classics like cheese crisps.

Junk Dynamites

(Matt Stangel/Leafly)

These stony Pop Rocks are lifted from childhood nostalgia.

Check these menus for it:

• Oregrown in Bend (call dibs on these now with Leafly Pickup)
• Refinery in Portland
• The Green Plant in Portland (call dibs on these now with Leafly Pickup)

Dump a little puddle of Junk Dynamites on your tongue and you’ll be transported back to the days of Good Humor ice cream trucks, volcanic soda-bottle eruptions, and that sizzle echoing around the cave of your mouth. Junk is a subdivision of Lief Goods—known for their cannabis-infused chocolates—that explores the fun side of foods that get you stoned.

Junk’s Marshmallow Bon-Bons are great little additions to your coffee or hot chocolate, but their Pop Rocks-inspired Dynamites really capture the spirit of whimsy, and the exploration of our newfound freedom to apply industrial manufacturing techniques to humankind’s favorite plant. Flavors and cannabinoid ratios include “Juicy Watermelon THC and Sour Orange 3:2 high CBD,” with a manageable 15mg THC per pack.

Coffee Cashew Spread by Lux Edibles

(Matt Stangel for Leafly)

Coffee Cashew Spread opens up fun, easy, and chefy options for aspiring edible cooks.

Check these menus for it:

• High Grade Organics in Bend
• Moss Crossing in Eugene
• Maritime Cafe in Portland

Making your own starter infusions for edibles can be expensive and time-consuming. And while pre-made solutions are starting to make their way to market, it can be nice to have an infusion on-hand that can either be used to cook with or eat straight up.

Enter Lux Edible’s Coffee Cashew Spread. Made with all-natural, vegan-friendly materials, these nut butters lend themselves both to hippy classics like Goo Balls and to simple, bread-and-butter preparations. That comforting PB&J just got a lot stonier—and tastier, with coffee in the mix as an added layer of flavor.

Toasty’s Chipotle Cheese Crisps by Portland Premium

(Matt Stangel for Leafly)

These Cheese Crisps take a couch classic into couchlock territory.

Check these menus for it:

• Bridge City Collective in Portland
• Canna Connection in Portland

Truthfully, I’d never tried a cheese crisp until I tried Toasty’s. Hailing from the Portland Premium kitchen, Toasty’s Chipotle & Cheddar Cheese Crisps are habit-forming not for the low, 3.7mg of THC per piece, but for the snackable flavor and mouthfeel: a tad spicy, a lot cheddar, with the satisfying crunch and crumble of so many favorite munchies.

Hard Cold Brew Candies by Elbe’s Edibles

(Matt Stangel/Leafly)

These Cold Brew Hard Candies are a sweet and salty, full-spectrum cannabutter treat.

Check these menus for it:

• Green Mart in Beaverton (call dibs on these now with Leafly Pickup)
• Bloom in Portland
• Jayne in Portland

Sweet and carmely—like a Werther’s for getting stoned—Elbe’s Edibles’ new Cold Brew Hard Candies are coffee-flavored cubes infused with 5mg of THC per speckled sucker. Made using Elbe’s beautiful cannabutter, these full-spectrum infusions are becoming increasingly rare on Oregon’s recreational market; oft abandoned in favor of cheaper but less effective distillates.

Anecdotally, I’ve observed full-spectrum edibles to be stronger, longer lasting, and better balanced between body and mind effects as compared to those made with isolated cannabinoids.

The superior high is apparent across Elbe’s menu—if you haven’t tried her cake balls, you’re missing out on bliss—and the flavors will have you coming back for seconds well before you feel the effects of your firsts.