At one Canadian pizzeria, getting high is, quite literally, as easy as pie.
Vancouver's Mega ILL cafe is making headlines this week for its pot-positive vibes and pot-infused pies. Said to be the city's first pizzeria-cum-vapor lounge, the cafe is, as owner Mark Klokeid explained to CTV News last month, a "pot friendly" establishment where patrons are encouraged to BYOC ("Bring Your Own Cannabis") and can smoke vaporizers provided for free by the cafe.
According to the Vancouver Sun, hungry patrons who are over 18 and have a medical marijuana card can also order a "medicated pizza," which is drizzled with oil extracted from weed before being cooked.
"There's already vapor lounges and other lounges around town," Klokeid told CTV News of the idea behind Mega ILL. "So I figured, why not match that with pizza?"
Klokeid, a cancer survivor, is a medical marijuana user himself. “I need it regularly and I continue to get anti-cancer benefits. I don’t use any other pain medication," he told the Sun, adding that he had wanted his restaurant to be a place where people like him could "vaporize and get a healthy meal."
As far as pizzas go, it seems Mega ILL, which first opened its doors in December, has gone above and beyond in trying to make its pies healthier than most restaurant varieties. Said to be made with mostly organic and local ingredients, the pizza at the cafe boasts a crust made with whole wheat, hemp hearts (which are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids) and oatmeal flour.
But even as Mega ILL's pot-infused pizzas generate lots of buzz, CBC News points out that the restaurant's special pies may soon be a thing of the past.
New medical marijuana regulations that went into effect Tuesday could make it illegal for the pizzeria to keep making pies with pot in them. However, as final approval for these laws is currently in limbo, the marijuana-laced pizzas will remain on the menu for now.