New York bans some cannabis and caffeine combo products, but not all

New York marijuana regulators over the summer quietly banned caffeine-infused cannabis pills, with a notice to marijuana company Hudson Cannabis and its brand 1906, which until recently sold a pair of product lines that mixed the two popular chemicals.

According to the New York Post, the state Office of Cannabis Management sent Hudson Cannabis a stop order in July, after the company had been selling the pills for about a year and a half beginning in February 2023.

The two product lines were dubbed “Go” and “Genius,” with the former containing 80 milligrams of caffeine, two milligrams of THC extract, and five milligrams of CBD/cannabis extract, and the latter containing 20 milligrams of caffeine, 2.5 milligrams of THC and five milligrams of both CBD and CBG. Go was marketed as an energy stimulant while Genius was sold as a “brain power” supplement, the Post reported.

But in July, the OCM put a kibosh on the goods, and wrote in a quarantine order to Hudson Cannabis that “Evidence supports that ingredients used in product are not allowed to be used in cannabis products,” and that the goods “may jeopardize public health or safety.”

Hudson Cannabis is appealing the order, and a company spokesperson told the Post that the business follows the letter of the law. The products in question are sold not just in New York but in seven states total, the company said.

“We are surprised by this decision from the state to quarantine products that have been on the market for over 18 months, are sold legally in states across the nation, and as far as we know have had zero reported adverse effects,” Hudson Cannabis co-founder Melany Dobson told the Post. “This type of arbitrary and capricious behavior, preventing the sale of safe and tested products readily available across the country, only serves to benefit the illicit market Gov. Hochul claims to care about shutting down.”

Attorney Matthew Schweber of Nuka Enterprises, which owns the 1906 brand, said the OCM was erroneously relying on an industry rule that prohibits combining caffeine with THC but does allow for “naturally occurring caffeine,” such as the type found in coffee and tea.

But OCM asserts that caffeine can produce “an unsafe combination” with THC, Schweber said, though regulators were unable to articulate why natural caffeine is safe but caffeine added to products such as pills is not.

“OCM can’t say which prohibition exactly caffeine triggers? Does caffeine increase cannabis’ ‘potency?’ Does it increase its ‘toxicity’ or its ‘addictive potential?’  Does it create ‘an unsafe combination?’ ” Schweber told the Post. “They can’t say. Do they have documented evidence of any of the dangers of combining caffeine and cannabis? No, of course not.”

An obvious contrast, Schweber said, is that OCM allows the sale of competitor Harney Brothers Cannabis-Infused Nitro Coffee, which he said contains 225 mg of caffeine per serving.

One New York City cannabis shop owner said he was taken aback when he learned of the ban on 1906 goods, calling it “completely unexpected.”

“The 1906 products are very popular with all age groups. It’s a big seller. We have professionals who use 1906 as well as customers who exercise, go to the gym. There’s an ease of use. People are comfortable taking a tablet,” Osbert Orduna, CEO of The Cannabis Place in Queens, told the Post.

The OCM did not respond to a request for comment from the Post.