Goodnight Cherry Deep Sleep Gummies by PLUS

92 Points

In my years as a Member Consultant and Manager at a high-traffic dispensary in San Francisco, I was asked one question probably more often than any others: “Do you have something that can help me sleep?” The short answer to this question was always “yes”, but more digging was needed to determine exactly what sort of product to recommend. I usually responded with a question of my own: “Do you need something to make you tired, or do you need something to help turn your brain off?” The answer to this question would usually determine which was I was going to steer this customer. For people who wanted something to make them tired (maybe their body was used to going to sleep at midnight, but now, for whatever reason, they want/need to go to sleep at 10pm), I would recommend a sedating product in whichever method of consumption they preferred. If an ingestible product was desired, I would usually recommend something with the sedating cannabinoid CBN. If an inhalable product was desired, I would recommend something high in the sedating terpenes myrcene and linalool. For people who just wanted to turn their brain off (lying in bed, exhausted, but unable to stop thinking about work/home/life), I would recommend something with CBD, the anti-anxiety cannabinoid. This would allow the consumer to take something that wouldn’t leave them groggy the following morning, but would allow them to gently fall asleep. But what if you need both? What if you’re wide awake and there are other factors keeping you up as well, such as anxiety or pain? In this case, you need something that will provide you with the sedation AND the anti-anxiety properties. Lucky for you, Plus just released their new Deep Sleep Gummies, which offer the best of both worlds.

Each gummy contains 10mg of THC, 10mg of CBD and 10mg of CBN, with ten gummies in the package for a total of 100mg of THC, 100mg of CBD and 100mg of CBN. This review is based on my Minimum Effective Dose (MED), or the smallest amount needed to achieve the desired effect. My MED currently sits at 100mg of THC, so I consumed the entire package. If you are unsure of your MED, it is recommended to start with 5mg of THC, or half of one gummy. Wait 90 minutes, then incrementally add 5mg as needed. Due to the nature of this product, taking it and waiting 90 minutes not knowing if you will feel the effects or not isn’t the best course of action for someone trying to sleep, so I would recommend knowing your MED before consuming this product. That way, you can take the right amount the first time and head to bed knowing you have consumed the proper dose. Remember, your MED may change as your tolerance gets higher or lower.

The gummies come in a small tin. Simply press down on the lid and twist to open. Once inside, you’re met with ten tiny red cubes covered in a light dusting of sugar. Upon first whiff, I encountered a familiar, nostalgic aroma. These smell like Luden’s Cough Drops. They had a distinctive cherry candy nose, that was maybe slightly medicinal. Many fruity gummies and candies on the market label themselves as having a specific fruit flavor, however in my experience, the smell and flavor of those products are often more of an amalgamation of multiple flavors and aromas. That was not the case with these. The label says cherry, and doggone it, these smell like cherry (granted, they smell like artificial cherry candy and not REAL cherries, but I digress). As expected, the flavor was just like the aroma, Luden’s Cough Drops. You know how when you were a kid you felt like you were eating candy when you had a Luden’s, even if you could tell there was something slightly medicinal about them? That was the case here. The flavor was overwhelmingly sweet cherry, but there was a hint of the solventless rosin on the aftertaste, just to remind you that you are indeed consuming a cannabis edible, and not just a yummy cherry gummy. The texture was closer to that of a jelly candy (think Chuckles or Fruit Slices) than a gummy,
a little grittier and not quite as chewy or toothsome. As a high dose consumer who required the entire tin, I was pleased that each gummy only contained seven calories, making the entire package a (relatively) reasonable 70 calories, far fewer than the whole package of many competing brands. Eating a lot of sugar before bed is a bit counterintuitive to wanting something to help with sleep.

I ate the gummies around 10:30 as my wife and I got into bed. Normally, I would have just tried falling asleep, but I wanted to stay up to see how long it
took to feel the effects and what those effects felt like. So, I started playing games and reading articles on ESPN.com, waiting for the effects to take hold. A little before 11:30, I started feeling the effects of the THC. The high was a bit more cerebral than I was expecting, but I was hoping that the effects of the CBD and CBN would counteract any cerebral energy I was experiencing. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, that CBN hit, and it hit HARD. Now, I mentioned that my MED for THC is 100mg, but my MED for CBN is much lower, due to the fact that I don’t consume it nearly as much as THC, and therefore have not built up the same tolerance. So when that 100mg of CBN hit, like I said, it hit hard. My eyelids got heavy, I started yawning uncontrollably, and I knew it was time to hit the hay. Unfortunately, the sedation from the CBN was fighting with the still existing cerebral energy from the THC, leaving me exhausted but still awake. Finally, around midnight (I think), the CBD took effect, clearing my mind and allowing me to crash into a heavy sleep, where I remained until 9 AM the following morning.

So many consumers use cannabis for sleep. It is one of the leading reasons for cannabis consumption. Knowing the reason why you’re having trouble sleeping, as well as how the different products designed for sleep will affect you, is a great start toward finding the ideal product to help you sleep. CBN will provide a sedating effect. CBD will help alleviate anxiety or pain that may be keeping you up. While there are plenty of “indica” products out there, the THC alone is not guaranteed to be a sleep aid. Looking for the aforementioned minor cannabinoids and understanding their functions is an ideal way to discover the right sleep aid for you!

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