CBD-Infused Soda Available At Greenport Restaurant

GREENPORT, NY — A business on the North Fork has begun selling soda infused with Cannabidiol, or CBD, oil.

Sharon Sailor, owner of Front Street Station in Greenport, said deciding to carry the soda was a no brainer: "The reason for it is simple — it’s the new thing. The new Valerian root or lavender. There are studies either way as to the benefits," she said.

Sailor added that she is not carrying the soda as a medicinal product, but as an alternative beverage to energy drinks or sugary colas; the sodas are sugar free — and sold only to adults.

So far, Sailor said, the sodas appear popular. "A woman came in with her dad, a Vietnam vet undergoing chemo — he loved it," she said. "She bought three to take home."

Greenport, Sailor said, is a tourist attraction. Products with CBD oils, she added, "are huge, west of here, and we are catching up. CBD oils were being added to foods and cocktails until a nuance in the law was used to embargo the food and restrict the cocktails because you are ‘adding’ something," she said.

Sailor said she knew she wanted to offer what customers wanted while still being in compliance with all Department of Health as well as New York State Liquor Authority rules and regulations.

"I did some research and found these sodas, sealed, the same as an energy drink . . . and jumped in," she said. "I like to be just a little outside the box and on the cutting edge!"

Sailor added she is the first on Long Island to feature that particular brand of soda, which is available in four flavors.