Linda Sands, a San Francisco mother who asked that I not use her real name, went on a resort vacation with her family this summer and took along a packet of THC-infused gummy candies. Each evening during the proverbial cocktail hour, the 35-year-old lawyer went to her room and sliced off a tiny wedge of the lozenge-shaped gummy, waited 20 minutes, then enjoyed the mildly soothing effects. She described them as in the same league as “half a beer.” Neither her three-year old son, nor anybody else, was the wiser.

“Smoking just has a stigma attached to it,” she says. “With edibles, there’s no smell, no ashtray, no standing outside.”

Sands’s experience is becoming more common. Vaporizing is on the rise as a healthier and more discreet alternative to smoking. And some people are even getting into “dabbing”–the trend of inhaling ultra-high sticky cannabis extract that’s been melted into vapor. But the numbers from Colorado show that the way to many peoples’ hearts is still through their stomachs–edibles currently account for as much as half of all cannabis-related sales in Colorado. Surveys show that many of those buyers are new or casual users, looking for a low-barrier-to-entry method of consuming pot: one that doesn’t require special equipment, won’t put them in compromising situations in front of their kids, and can even be easily stowed in luggage without looking suspicious.

Since New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd made waves with her spring column about getting too high on pot chocolate, edibles makers have better come to understand the newbie consumer, and are tweaking their products and marketing accordingly. Sleek packaging and lower dosages are meant to appeal to the mainstream consumer. Some are even conducting scientific research to deliver different types of highs.

Packaged food and beverages are also a more familiar and attractive proposition to investors. Patrick Rea, founder and manager of Denver-based MISO Capital, a cannabis industry venture fund, says he sees edibles as more promising than even marijuana growing or retail operations. “Marijuana is a commodity, like wheat, corn, or soybeans,” he says. “With edibles, you can create a brand story, trademark a name, have secret formulations that can be intellectual property.” In other words, edibles are a good investment.

With pot legalization on the horizon across the U.S., the future of marijuana may be in clearly labeled, low-dosage, and family-friendly weed-infused food and drink. Ironically, considering the pot brownie’s stony, tie-dyed legacy, edibles may be turning into the most mom-friendly way of getting high. Call it the Lunchables of legalization.

Four years ago, San Francisco Bay Area residents Kristi Knoblich and Scott Palmer started Kiva Confections: a line of high-quality dark and milk chocolate bars and chocolate-covered espresso beans infused with hash oil. The candy has earth-toned, eco-chic packaging that would be right at home on the shelves of Whole Foods. It’s tested for potency, and is clearly labeled so you’re not left guessing how much you eat. (One square of chocolate contains 10 milligrams of THC, roughly the equivalent of smoking one joint. One espresso bean is 5 milligrams.) Sold in medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, Kiva is now one of the most popular edible brands. (Kiva doesn’t give out sales figures, stating that, per California medical marijuana law, it operates as a nonprofit.)