Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers told The News Service of Florida on Wednesday her company has sold whole-leaf products in different forms — all designed to be ingested by vaporizers — for nearly a year. Those products, however, were ground up, unlike the new bud-like product that can be smoked.
Quincy-based Trulieve’s new product, first sold on Tuesday, comes in canisters designed for use with vaporizer pens. But patients can easily use the substance in other ways, such as in joints, bongs or pipes — consumption methods off-limits under state law.
Rivers said whole-leaf products are critical for patients seeking the “entourage effect” that results from consumption of whole-flower marijuana, as opposed to processed cannabis products, such as oils or other derivatives.
“We feel very strongly that having products available that allow patients to have a choice and to benefit from the entourage effect, also available to physicians to make recommendations to patients, is critical. So if that means we’re pushing the envelope, we’ve had a form of whole-flower vaporizer available from the day we’ve opened. This has always been part of our product line and will continue to be in the future,” Rivers said in a telephone interview.
