It sounds like the sort of thing you’d read on a bad fake-news website, but apparently it’s true: Marijuana could soon come in the form of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of the ice cream chain, said they were open to the idea of weed-infused ice cream – once pot becomes legal. Ben & Jerry’s is well known for its liberal/libertarian leanings.
“Makes sense to me,” Cohen told the Huffington Post. “Combine your pleasures.”
Marijuana ice cream is logical step forward
Greenfield said cannabis ice cream would be a natural next step for the two men. Cohen and Greenfield have never been quiet about their past (and present?) drug use.
“Ben and I have had previous experiences with substances, and I think legalizing marijuana is a wonderful thing,” he said. “It’s not my decision. If it were my decision, I’d be doing it, but fortunately we have wiser heads at the company that figure those things out.”
For all the politics involved in the company’s ice cream selections, Ben & Jerry’s remains beloved across America. It’s one of the best-selling ice cream makers in the world, available even in places without a signature Ben & Jerry’s shop.
Ben & Jerry’s grew quickly
The company was founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vt., when the two childhood friends opened their first store in an old gas station. Within a few years, Ben & Jerry’s was shipping to other parts of the country. Within a few more years, the company was one of the world’s most popular purveyors of ice cream.
The chain is known for its countless creative varieties and funky, hippy-centric names. There’s Cherry Garcia (cherry ice cream, cherries, and fudge flakes), Half Baked (chocolate and vanilla ice cream, fudge brownies, and chocolate chip cookie dought), Americone Dream (a mix of vanilla ice cream, fudge-covered waffle cone pieces, and caramel swirl that pays homage to Stephen Colbert), and many others.
There’s no telling yet when legalization might reach Vermont, but it’s a good bet it will be relatively soon. The state is on a short list of places likely to go legal in the next two years.
That wouldn’t necessarily mean marijuana ice cream for everyone, at least not for a while. Federal law still prohibits marijuana for any purpose, so shipping the stuff across state lines would likely be a federal felony.
But it isn’t hard to imagine tourists flocking to the good stuff from other points in New England. And if the federal ban is lifted, as many hope, Ben & Jerry’s could be on the cusp of a business model even more successful that either the ice cream business or the weed industry.