Story highlights
Italian gelato shop Perleco makes a gelato using shelled hemp seeds
Perleco's owners and activists say it can help fight cannabis stigmatization in Italy
Other local food stores to offer cannabis pizzas and liquors
What’s Italian for munchies? A town on the Riviera coast of Italy has begun selling a weed-infused gelato that campaigners hope could change the country’s attitude to cannabis.
Perleco, a gelato parlor in Alassio, recently launched the gelato – named Marley after reggae legend Bob. But while it sounds like a weed fiend’s dream, its makers say the frozen treat isn’t going to get anyone high.
“Cannabis has a very intense flavor,” Aldo De Michelis, who created the flavor with son Mauro and wife Emanuela Baudana, tells CNN.
“At first it tastes like nuts, but the aftertaste is strong. That’s why it took us a month to find a good recipe.”
The gelato is made with shelled hemp seeds, which De Michelis says contain minimal and legal traces of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in Cannabis.
Surprisingly, De Michelis says the shop’s weed-infused range of treats, which includes chocolate bars and ganache, came about for health reasons.
“I’m a runner and I love competing in marathons,” he says. “But I am a vegetarian too. Therefore I needed food rich in protein to replace meat. Cannabis is one. That’s how I started using extra-virgin cannabis oil and similar products, and how the idea of this gelato flavor came about.”
“We wanted to create something tasty and healthy,” he adds.
In an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country like Italy, cannabis is a controversial issue and legislation is complicated. Recreational use is punishable but medical marijuana – often sold at 10 times the price of illegal pot available on the street – has been legal since 2013 for patients with a prescription.
9 places in Italy that’ll destroy your waistline
The arrival of a weed-infused gelato has caused a stir.
“When we announced the new flavor, we received up to 10 phone calls per day,” De Michelis says. “Some kids even came thinking they could get high with our gelato.”
De Michelis’s family hopes its invention will help spread the nutritional benefits of cannabis, freeing the plant from its notoriety.
“Time has come for Italy to rediscover the versatility of this plant, including its medical and, why not, recreational use,” De Michelis says.
Italian town wants a fascist museum
Alberto Barbieri of the Canapa Ligure, a cannabis and legalization advocacy group, helped launch Marley.
“We connected the shop with the seed sellers,” he tells CNN.
He points out that Italy was one of the world’s main producers of cannabis for industrial use until the 1960s, before it became stigmatized and linked almost exclusively to recreational drugs.
His group campaigns for the legalization of cannabis and promotes its benefits as an economic resource and a healthy nutrient.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It’s time for a medical marijuana revolution
“Initiatives like [the gelato] can help people understand that cannabis is not just a drug,” he says.
“Things are changing in Italy. People and institutions have a more open approach to cannabis, but in some sectors the resistance is still strong.”
Cultural change may take time, but the De Michelis’s product seems to be melting resistance. So much so that they’re adding a marijuana sorbet to their range. Other local food stores are also getting involved, offering cannabis pizzas and liquors.
“Marley is one of our best-selling flavors,” Aldo De Michelis says. “Some customers come to Perleco just to enjoy it.”
This article was originally published in March 2016.
