When most people hear the word “edibles,” they think gummies.
That’s because dispensary shelves in Michigan are lined with THC gummies, all promising the same high in slightly different flavors.
One Lansing-based company, Hey! Captain, is breaking away from that trend with a unique lineup of full-spectrum candies that literally melt in your mouth. Their tag line says it all: “No Gummies, No Brownies, No Bullshit.”
The brand, which launched late last year, is named after longtime cannabis innovator Kirk Reid, a.k.a Captain Kirk. He’s also the brainchild behind the fast-acting treats, which have won 11 High Times Cannabis Cups since he began making edibles in 2008 to help treat symptoms from multiple sclerosis.
At one point he was on more than 50 medications before he discovered how effective cannabis was.
In February 2011, Reid was hospitalized, but not even that would stop him.
“I was completely blind and paralyzed,” Reid tells me. “I couldn’t get out of bed. But I knew the High Times cup was coming up. So I got up, and I pushed through and made it happen.”
He made an infused key lime cheesecake for the contest and won his first High Times Cannabis Cup that year. He hasn’t looked back since, creating some of the most unique and delicious edibles in the market. His goal has been to create edibles that are fun, flavorful, and effective.
“Everybody has gummies everywhere,” Captain Kirk says. “When you walk into a dispensary, you’ll probably find 100 different gummies.”
Hey! Captain’s launch began with an array of freeze-dried candies, including infused takes on familiar favorites like Star Babies (think Starbursts), Cosmic Crunchers and Sour Cosmics (Skittles), Lightning Lemons (Lemonheads), Freezies (Sweet Tart Minis), and Caramel Crunchies (Chocolate Caramel M&M’s).
Another popular product is Dank Dots, which are freeze-dried ice cream bites that taste like blueberry and key lime cheesecake, along with Lunar Dust, a powdery candy reminiscent of Pixy Stix.
“Hey! Captain is our swan song and love letter to the industry,” Hilary Dulany, one of the brand’s key partners and a longtime cannabis advocate, says.
Part of what makes Hey! Captain unique is that its edibles are freeze-dried, a process that preserves flavor, extends shelf life, and creates a light, crunchy texture that dissolves quickly in your mouth.
Because they’re freeze-dried, the candies have a shelf life of more than a year, as long as the bags are sealed. Because the candies dissolve on the tongue, they’re gentler on your teeth.
Using a proprietary infusion process, the freeze-dried candies have a faster absorption rate than edibles sprayed with distillate. That means the effects hit more quickly.
Hey! Captain also uses a proprietary process to remove the taste of cannabis so that it doesn’t affect the flavor of the candy.
Rather than buy into the hype, I decided to try the candies myself. And they exceeded my expectations.
First, I tried the edibles that taste like familiar candies. Each had a light, crispy texture that dissolves on the tongue, leaving behind sweet, bold flavors. The candy was nostalgic and reminded me of going to the corner store as a kid. The only challenge was not eating an entire bag.
Each package contains a total of 200 mg of THC, the legal maximum in Michigan. The potency of each piece varies from 10 mg to 40 mg, depending on the product.
While it usually takes 45 minutes or so to feel the effects of many edibles, these hit me in 15 minutes. The full-body high left me relaxed and feeling goofy.
One of my favorites was Dank Dots, which are freeze-dried ice cream bites that come in key lime cheesecake and blueberry. Both flavors were spot-on. At only 12 mg of THC per bite, I treated myself to a couple, and the effects were as good as the others.
Dank Dots also include natural ingredients and have no artificial dyes or high-fructose corn syrup. The Key Lime Cheesecake, for example, includes lime, lime zest, sugar, cream cheese, butter, heavy cream, salt, eggs, vanilla, distillate, CBD, and CBG isolate.
Lunar Dust was a blast. It comes with a spoon and can be eaten in a variety of ways. I sprinkled mine on ice cream, and it amped up the flavor.
Captain Kirk plans to release a variety of new edibles this year, including a freeze-dried Japanese candy, chocolates, and even tomato soup. Freeze-dried grilled cheese sandwiches are also on the way.
Asked where he picked up his culinary skills, Captain Kirk responded, “I grew up in the south.”
Hey! Captain is available in about 150 dispensaries across the state.
Launching unique candies in a market dominated by gummies was a risk, especially at a time when prices have plummeted and cannabis has saturated the market.
While the brand is taking off, Dulany says, the challenge is getting consumers who are accustomed to gummies to try something different.
“Our order sizes are doubling in the worst retail time of the year, which tells us we’re on the right track, but we’re also facing inherent issues as a new variety edible producer in a sea of mid-grade gummy ‘settlers,’” Dulany says. “Not everyone is willing to try something new without knowing it’s good first.”
Hey! Captain is also developing an edible line for Willie Nelson’s brand, Willie’s Reserve.
