Medicinal cannabis cooking class comes to Hastings at Fringe in the ‘Stings festival

Christopher Manaia, formerly known as Hempstar Christ (left) and Anthony van Duuren at Baked Not Burnt in Hastings. Inset: cannabis-free treats served at the event. Composite image. Photos / Jack Riddell

A class on medicinal cannabis baking drew a crowd of the curious to Hastings on Thursday night, just over a week after a woman was sentenced to home detention for taking a cannabis cake to a staff morning tea at the hospital down the road. Hawke’s Bay Today sent reporter Jack Riddell to sample the atmosphere, not the goods.

FIRST PERSON:

Baked goods are easy to find in Hawke’s Bay, but finding ones that can potentially get people baked is a bit harder.

However, legal changes have paved the way for patients with a prescription to legally access high-quality medicinal cannabis.

As I discovered, medicinal cannabis was at the centre of an event in Hastings last Thursday night.

Organisers of the Fringe in the ‘Stings festival decided to hold it as a follow-up to last year’s Highly Regarded medicinal cannabis consumption lounge.

Titled Baked Not Burnt, the event was billed as the second coming of Christ, with medical cannabis advocate Christopher Manaia, formerly known as Hempstar Christ, returning to explain what eating previously vapourised cannabis can do for chronic pain sufferers.

Entering the event made me think about a recent court case involving a cannabis cake.

Just over a week ago, 1News reported that former nurse Michelle Webster was sentenced to home detention in the Hastings District Court after her infamous contribution of cannabis cake at a Hawke’s Bay Hospital staff lunch.

The outpatient unit was shut for the day after multiple staff members ate the cake and felt ill.

Two staff members had to be treated in the Emergency Department, one saying they were severely unwell and had to be transferred by wheelchair.

Webster, 54, was sentenced to three months’ home detention after being charged with administering a Class B drug, namely cannabis oil, to a person.

Multiple Shortland Street-esque scenarios sprinted through my head.

Back to reality. Inside were fold-out chairs and a table covered with bongs and vaping machines, which ranged in price from $330 to over $1000.

There were also cannabis-free baked goods dressed up to look like they had cannabis in them.

It looked more like Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory than a baking demonstration.

Soon Manaia and Anthony van Duuren, co-founder of Hastings-based medical cannabis vapouriser company Puha Express, were standing behind the vapes and bongs, turning what was billed as a cooking class into a science lesson.

About 10 people from multiple generations were there from the start, and others arrived during the evening.

Manaia scolded me for referring to cannabis as marijuana, which he said was a slang term for a Mexican herb that landed people in jail, before explaining the benefits of recycling already-vaped cannabis by eating it.

He said that vapourised cannabis still had 50% of the active cannabinoid elements and when ingested could still provide relief for chronic-pain patients.

To demonstrate this to the class, Manaia conducted the only baking tutorial for the whole hour.

He took a cracker, put some Nutella on it and poured pre-vaped cannabis on top.

He then added another cracker and shoved it in his gob, calling it a firecracker.

“So it will take half an hour to kick in and then normally, edible products will last for about three to five hours, depending on the strength,” he said.

Van Duuren also eats his vaped medicinal greens, saying otherwise it’s a waste of money, given the significant cost of medicinal cannabis.

Consultations for medicinal cannabis range from $59 to over $300, while 30g of dried cannabis flower can cost between $300-$400.

“A lot of people just unfortunately don’t know and they see [vapourised cannabis] as a discount product,” he said.

“They’re literally throwing their medication away. It’s literally money that you could have, and who doesn’t want a good night’s sleep?”

During the event, van Duuren said the Karamu Rd room where the event was hosted was set to become a medicinal cannabis consumption lounge for the summer months, the first of its kind in Hawke’s Bay.

The lounge would be like a cafe, with refreshments.

“You’ll have a place to go to consume, and then you can continue on your way and enjoy one of the other establishments here,“ he said.

“This is the entertainment district. There’s pubs and plenty of places to get alcohol, but not many places to just sit down and have a coffee after 2pm.”

The lounge is expected to open in December.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.