Pot pills, Metric Coffee caramel edibles and fast-acting gummies: Here are the new products hitting shelves at Illinois dispensaries

With weed flying off the shelves at Illinois dispensaries, cannabis firms vying for new customers are increasingly focused on developing new products and marketing their wares.

So far this year, cultivators looking to feed Illinois’ growing need for legal weed have flooded pot shops with everything from THC-laced pills to artisanal edibles to a weed label focused on “high-fashion and luxury.”

Here are some of the products hitting dispensary shelves:

‘The Hermes of Marijuana’

Provided/Green Thumb Industries

The Beboe brand of vaporizers and edibles was first unveiled at a West Hollywood dinner party attended by A-listers like Orlando Bloom, Sharon Stone and Justin Theroux. After the brand’s cache grew and The New York Times labeled Beboe “the Hermès of marijuana,” Green Thumb Industries acquired its parent company in 2019.

GTI, a major pot firm based in the Loop, has now introduced Beboe’s disposable vape pens and edible pastilles to Illinois’ market. Both come in two blends that have differing effects, Inspired and Downtime. And the edible products come in a tin specially designed by Beboe’s founder, celebrity tattoo artist Scott Campbell.

“Designed to be ‘socially-dosed,’ Beboe products deliver a sophisticated, sleek and 100%-natural cannabis experience that gives you a buzz without losing your cool,” GTI says.

GTI is also pushing its Dr. Solomon’s line of “medical grade” cannabis products, which includes transdermal lotions and balms that are “designed to help alleviate symptoms associated with pain.”

Chocolates crafted by award-winning chef

Provided/Cresco Labs

Cresco Labs recently relaunched a line of chocolates created by the James Beard Award-winning pastry chef, who has frequently collaborated with the Loop-based pot giant. Segal, who now runs Mindy’s Bakery in Bucktown, developed three chocolate bars as part of the collaboration — milk chocolate & peanut brittle, caramelized chocolate marshmallow graham and dark chocolate almond toffee.

“A big difference between Mindy’s and other edible products in the market is their decadently delicious taste, featuring iconic flavor combinations and distinctive, premium ingredients,” Cresco says.

Cresco is also offering a new line of low-dose hard candy edibles called Wonder Minis, as well as Live vape cartridges that “never contain THC boosters, distillate or other harmful additives like MCT oil and vitamin E acetate.”

Pot in a pill

1906 website

Ascend Wellness, a multi-state pot company based in New York, has teamed with the cannabis brand 1906 to produce and distribute Drops, which are cannabis pills that come in six formulations with different dosages of THC and CBD. The pills have no taste or aroma, zero calories, and are both gluten- and allergen-free.

“Drops address the most important and pervasive wellness needs of Illinois residents: sleep, anxiety, focus, energy, mood and libido,” Ascend says.

Ascend is also launching a line of glass pipes prepackaged with cannabis flower and its own Live Resin vape cartridges, which the company says “capture the essence of whole flower in a vaporized form.”

Get a taste of Illinois’ dopest dope

Provided/Revolution Global

After nearly sweeping last year’s High Times Cannabis Cup Illinois, Revolution Global is now repackaging its winning strains in glass jars that help preserve the flavor and smell of the high-quality weed. Revolution’s Florida Orange, Gorilla’d Cheese and Turbo Lemon Cake all took home first prize.

Revolution has also introduced a new line of gummy edibles and tins of pre-rolls, which contain five half-gram joints filled with premium cannabis flower.

Fast-acting fruit gummies

PharmaCann, another leading cannabis firm based in the Loop, recently started selling a line of fast-acting, fruit-flavored gummies that come in four varieties — Acai Pomegranate, Apple, Watermelon and Wild Berry.

“Each variety is uniquely formulated with a combination of THC and CBD to create a desired effect based on a balanced ratio of the two major ingredients,” PharmaCann says. “The Matter premium 5mg cannabis-infused sour gummy bites are vegan friendly.”

The Spots gummies, branded under PharmaCann’s Matter label, are made with emulsified THC, which the company says allows for a quicker onset. While pot users have long complained about how long edibles take to kick in, PharmaCann says its new gummies take just 15 to 30 minutes to start working.

They are available at the company’s Verilife dispensaries across Illinois.

Cannabis and coffee

Verano Holdings/Instagram

Verano Holdings has partnered with Metric Coffee, the popular West Town roaster, to develop caramel edibles “infused exclusively with hints of rich espresso.” Each piece contains 10 mg of THC, and the edibles are expected to hit the Illinois market soon.