A good time was had by all at the Hemp for Victory tour launch party. This being England, tea was served, in this case, Cannabis Ice Tea which is distributed by C-Ice Tea in London. It does not get you stoned...just happy. Photo courtesty of the schmoo site from an underground secret location where people are very happy.

CANNABIS TEA IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Yesterday's last post mentioned the press given to C-Ice Tea in the Sun and Nutra. There was a lot more, most notably the article by Jenny Wiggins on p. 12 of the Financial Times. The article focuses on the increasing market share of health related drinks, and quotes Harinder Kohli, commercial director of C-Ice UK: "The health angle is by far the most interesting one for us."

This drink is relatively new, having been started in 2003 by a Swiss company, Thurella. It now produces two million cartons a year, and this month was the launch for this product in the UK, where tea is a national beverage.

Checking the Times, which like the Sun, is owned by Rupert Murdoch, there was only to be found another negative quote about the product promoting cannabis. Other papers were neutral in their reporting.

HEMP TEA IN THE UK

In today's Sun, there is piece about tea. Hemp tea, a cannabis containing drink called C-Ice Tea. Cool! However, there are some voices of discontent this summer, coming mostly from The National Drug Prevention Alliance UK. David Raynes, speaking on their behalf, warns: "This is normalisation of cannabis in young people's minds...So many people come off the rails because of cannabis." Good ol' Murdoch!

Well, chill out dude, no one is coming off the rails with this drink, it is THC-free and Her Majesty's government has approved it. In fact, in some recent medical research trials, MS sufferers have found it to be helpful.

It is made from Swiss-grown cannabis and made in Austria. In the UK it is disrtibuted by C-Ice.

A more positive reaction from the press at Nutra, which actually covered the story, not just a remark from a single reactionary. This piece, written by Jess Halliday, (which can be found at www.nutraingredients.com), goes into details about the MS study and what the drink really does contain.

I've had a chance to check this out myself and enjoy it. I predict it will be a hit. Expect to see more reporting on this product in the near future.