Peter Barsoom, co-founder and CEO of 1906, appreciates the power of cannabis, but he also understands for some people, it’s not always easy to consume.

Flower smokers can be restricted by time and place, and early on, edibles didn’t offer a predictable onset or experience. Some consumers turn to cannabis for well-defined purposes, and they may not be interested in other specifics.

“Regardless of how you consume cannabis, you deserve to have the best possible cannabis experience,” Barsoom said.

Founded in 2015, 1906 aims to make cannabis accessible, safe and effective — resulting in a line of pills formulated for distinct need cases with cannabinoids and functional botanical ingredients. The company recently took its mission a step further by launching hemp versions of its products on a direct-to-consumer site.

“We think it’s the greatest plant medicine on earth and that it should be widely available to people,” Barsoom said.

Product development

While 1906 started out with chocolates, Barsoom said the company turned to pills to offer cannabis in a familiar format without potentially undesirable ingredients.

“The question to us was always, ‘If we call cannabis medicine, why is it not available in a medicinal format?’ Why is it that I have to have sugar, gelatin, calories and all this stuff in order to get my medicine?” he said.

However, Barsoom is well aware of the stigma around pills. He noted 1906 took several measures to make the product experience more enjoyable, including renaming them as “drops.”

Additionally, the company refined the shape to make them easier to swallow and packaged the drops in color-coded, recyclable tins rather than pharmaceutical bottles.

“There’s nothing wrong with the pill,” he said. “There could be something wrong with the people behind pills or with their intention, but the pill as the format itself, there’s nothing good or bad about it. It’s just the healthiest, most effective way to deliver.”

1906 tapped a team of pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, natural product chemists and food scientists to develop the formulations, keeping in mind that many consumers look to cannabis for specific purposes.

“It starts first with an understanding of what it is the consumer is looking for,” Barsoom said. “When you’re looking for something to give you energy, or when you’re looking for something to put you more in the mood and make you feel more sensual, what does that experience look like?”

Among 1906’s cannabis-infused offerings are:

• Bliss: 5 mg THC, 5 mg CBD, 20 mg kanna and 100 mg theobromine per dr
• Chill: 5 mg THC, 25 mg CBD, 7.5 mg magnolia and 100 mg L-theanine per drop
• Genius: 2.5 mg THC, 2.5 mg CBD, 125 mg rhodiola, 80 mg bacopa, 20 mg caffeine, 37.5 mg theobromine, 125 mg galangal and 40 mg L-theanine per drop
• Go: 5 mg THC, 5 mg CBD, 110 mg L-theanine, 100 mg theobromine, 60 mg caffeine and 175 mg galangal per drop
• Love: 2.5 mg THC, 2.5 mg CBD, 20 mg damiana, 75 mg ashwagandha, 100 mg theobromine, 125 mg muira puama and catuaba per drop
• Midnight: 5 mg THC, 5 mg CBD and 100 mg stephania per drop

Hemp expansion and what's next

Building on 1906’s mission of accessibility, the company introduced hemp-derived versions of its products and a direct-to-consumer site late last year.

Barsoom said the company aims to serve consumers across the country, especially those in markets without cannabis programs who still want or need safe and effective infused products.

“Their only access is the illicit market that’s untested, that’s not safe. You don’t know what you’re getting there,” he said. “We believe in the end of prohibition. People should have access to cannabis. For us, this federally legal cannabis and the end of prohibition and being able to service consumers all across the country — this is the day we have been working for as an industry.”

Available offerings include Bliss, Boost, Chill, Genius, Go, Love and Sleep. These products are designed for microdosing, with 2 mg THC. 

In early December, 1906 had sold out its first batch of drops and was working on a second. “Everybody’s loving it,” Barsoom said.

Barsoom added 1906 is working on new formulations for pain and women’s health.

“This has been a category that has been ignored by the pharmaceutical and the medical industry,” he said. “Women throughout time have found benefits from plant medicines and from cannabis in particular when dealing with menstrual cramps and also going through menopause. There are products that we’re working on around both those areas as well.”