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The “cannabis space” is about to get liquid, with beverages delivering the stuff in handy drinkable formulas. From cannabis-spiced lattes, to weed beer and energy drinks — the possibilities are endless.

A new partnership between the University of British Columbia Okanagan, BCIT and Pac Rim Brands — a Kelowna-based integrated cannabis company — aims to research and develop cannabis-based beverages that incorporate cannabis ingredients in a way that is safe, shelf-stable and effective.

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Professor Susan Murch, an expert in medicinal plants who is involved in the project, said the legalization of cannabis has opened up new opportunities for scientists. “If you asked me five years ago whether I would ever be working on cannabis, I would have said of course not, no, because it wasn’t legal, there were too many restrictions.”

Murch, who teaches chemistry at UBCO, said legalization will allow scientists to get “real data” on what medicinal effects different strains have. “There are a lot of things that we think to be true about cannabis that have come from the informal, or grey market, about which we don’t have validated scientific evidence.”