Hi5 vs. Levia
Disclaimer: We have similar technology and products to Levia and Hi5. Although we poke fun a bit, they are helping to de-stigmatize cannabis by creating innovative products to help bring more consumers on to the market that can benefit from cannabis.
New THC cannabis-infused seltzers are popping up everyday. The two biggest contenders on the Massachusetts market are Hi5 from Theory Wellness and Levia from well… Levia?
Real talk: Is it pronounced Lev-e-ah or Lev-i-ah? We’ve heard a few variations on this, but we believe the real pronounciation is Lev-e-ah.
Theory Wellness has been on the Massachusetts cannabis scene since 2020. They offer all sorts of products, from vapes, gummies, tinctures, etc. Hi5 is their first entry into beverages. They launched it February 2021.
Levia, based in Georgetown, MA, worked for two years behind the scenes before launching in February 2021. They are a dedicated beverage brand, which we think gives them an advantage. They are focused!
They were acquired in February 2022 by Ayr Wellness, a publicly traded (OTC:AYRWF) Multi-State Operator (MSO) based in New York, NY.
In full transparency: I’ve met two of the original founders, Troy and Eric. Solid guys!
So, what are these cannabis drinks?
Cannabis is an oil, so they made oil compatible with water! Sound familiar? Basically, it’s like making salad dressing. Starting with cannabis oil, you add an emulsifier to make it miscible (mixable) with water. That means you can now put your emulsified cannabis oil directly into any water based liquid.
You can put it into flat water, sparkling, soda, coffee, juice, tea… whatever you want. I guess… except for oil.
Wait, that’s it?
Kind of. The original drinks that hit the market on the west coast used that basic idea, which is why they probably didn’t sell too well. However, the most important advancement, and the kind of technology Hi5 and Levia use, is to make it fast-acting!
To make a beverage fast-acting you need to decimate (blow up/shrink) the particle size to such a small scale that it becomes nanometers in size.
For reference, your fingernails grow at the rate of about 1 nanometer per second. And a human hair is between 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers, so we’re talking small. [1]
Why is nano the way to go?
It has to do with how your body absorbs these types of particles. The theory goes… Nano-sized droplets are able to pass through your GI tract and into the blood stream faster. They get processed in the small intestine and absorbed before it hits the liver.
This is what makes it faster than a traditional edible, which has to get processed in the liver.
Other key benefits, efficacy. You get the fast-acting speed, but you also get enhanced bio-availability. Meaning, you’re going to excrete (sweat, pee and poo) a lot less cannabis oil.
This actually ends up saving you money since you can get the effects you’re looking for with a lot less cannabis.
Levia Review
Levia has three “flavors” Achieve, Dream and Celebrate. I get what they’re trying to do with the names, but in reality the Achieve made me sleepy. But this is a sample size of one, so don’t shoot me if you actually achieve something while drinking it. Read my side quest below regarding Sativa vs Indica.
I guess, don’t be a lazy butt and just sit on the couch after drinking one. Cannabis will relax you, but if you’re lying down… well, what did I expect? To restart my pandemic macramé project?
Taste: Carbonation was a bit too light for me. The flavor was acceptable. I’ve heard the seasonals are pretty tasty though. This is the most subjective part of the review, of course.
Effect: Quick! Around 10 minutes in, I started to feel the effects. It continued to increase until around 1 hour later, then I felt sober-ish. I did feel like I may have been getting too high, so next time I’ll have to start with a half a can.
Party time? Yes. I could rock this at a party and blend in with the alcohol drinking crowd.
Side quest: Actually… you know sativa and indica are for the most part B.S. marketing tactics for edibles, right?
Anyone have any scientific evidence that a sativa gives you energy? I encourage you to search it up. Thought so. Also, is there actually a purely sativa or indica cultivar or is everything just a hybrid now? I mean it’s all cannabis sativa. The term Indica was from a misidentified Sativa 200 years ago. They’re the same plant, just from different parts of the world.
Dr. Russo: There are biochemically distinct strains of Cannabis, but the sativa/indica distinction as commonly applied in the lay literature is total nonsense and an exercise in futility. [2]
And another one…
Dr. Russo: […] The differences in observed effects in Cannabis are then due to their terpenoid content, which is rarely assayed, let alone reported to potential consumers. [2]
To the industry: It’s a disservice to the consumer to continue using these distinctions if you are just using straight up THC distillate in your products. You’ve boiled off 99% of the terpenoids. Or, do you actually have terpenes into your edibles? No? Then stop calling it sativa or indica.
THC just opens the gate. Terpenes allow you to choose your own adventure.
Glad we’re on the same page now.
Hi5 Review
Hi5 has too many flavors to count. Yes, I’m that lazy right now on this rainy Sunday morning. But for the most part, they kept to the basics and used actual flavors as their names, like “Lime” and “Lemon”. Nothing too fancy, although their seasonal seems to be “Winter Mule,” which I guess is like a Moscow Mule without the alcohol? So, ginger beer and lime? Not sure, I didn’t try that one.
Taste: The taste is pretty clean. Flavor was pretty basic. I mean… it’s Lime what did you expect? It’s not some revelatory experience. It’s seltzer.
Effect: Possibly faster than Levia? I felt they both were pretty quick, like 10 minutes max. But, I feel like it still depends on the person. The day I had Levia I had a bit more stress going on, so that may have blunted the effects. So this one is a toss up.
Party time? Yes. I could rock this at a party and blend in with the alcohol drinking crowd.
So, who is the winner?
The consumer. These beverages both pack a punch. In fact, we feel it’s a bit too much unless you are a seasoned cannabis consumer. We were feeling pretty heady after the first one.
I would start with a half a can, if you are a newbie. Unfortunately your seltzer may get flat if you don’t consume it fast enough, but I guess you could always just get a soda stream.
So kudos to both companies!
[1] https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-nanoscale-608575
[2] https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/can.2015.29003.ebr
