Quigley's — a Fast-Acting, Pot-Infused Beverage — Coming to Colorado

Impatient potheads frequently gripe about the delayed effect of edibles, but  a new product line claims that you won't have to wait any longer to get high.

Quigley's Fast-Acting Cannabis Shot, a marijuana-infused beverage that says it "typically can be felt within seconds, building within a few minutes," will be on Colorado dispensary shelves by Thanksgiving after reaching a production and distribution agreement with Dixie Elixirs, the Denver-based edibles maker.  Under this arrangement, Quigley's will send its mixture to Dixie and other edibles manufacturers in legal states, where it will be infused with THC oil and packaged for sale. The 2-ounce bottles will come in 10-milligram and 50-milligram doses, priced at $6 and $15 before tax.

"Quigley’s Formula is different from any edible and drink product in the cannabis industry, because it allows you to know the precise amount of THC to be ingested, without needing more,” Quigley's inventor and co-founder Tony Alfiere said in the company's announcement of the deal. “For people who cannot, should not, or do not like to smoke, or do not want to wait up to two hours, this is a groundbreaking alternative.”

So what makes this magic potion work in minutes while a traditional pot brownie can take up to two hours? According the company's website, it all depends on where and when the body absorbs THC: "Unlike most cannabis delivery systems that must first reach the liver, our innovative, patent-pending formula delivers effects quickly by being absorbed directly into the soft tissue of the upper digestive tract instead. This makes Quigley's fact-acting formula unlike any other cannabis delivery system available."

The upper-digestive tract consists of the mouth, pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach and duodenum (the beginning of the small intestine). As our Stoner previously noted, the effect of cannabis suppositories can be felt within fifteen minutes – significantly faster than the time it takes a traditional edible to be digested through the stomach and processed through the liver.

And according to Alfiere, the effects of Quigley's will hang on just as long, if not longer, than edibles processed through the liver. "It lasts a long time," he says. "Fat has nothing to do with it." Edibles that are processed in the liver can bond with fat cells during metabolization, which accelerates and enhances marijuana's effects. Processing THC through the upper-digestive tract, however, has no use for fat.

There could be an added benefit to the quicker effects: With faster absorption comes a better understanding of your tolerance. If you can feel the effects of 10-milligrams of THC in five minutes instead of having to wait for an hour, that will help eliminate the current eat-and-wait approach, which has been blamed for not-so-funny, highly publicized edible freakouts.

Is this patent-pending product the real deal? Find out for yourself: Next week you can find Quigley's at recreational pot shops at which Dixie products are sold. Alfiere says a 50-milligram dose will also be available at medical dispensaries in the near future.


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