Article by Michael Floreak, Boston Globe

First things first. Yes, there’s a pot brownie recipe. Heath Bar canna-butter brownies, to be exact. But “The 420 Gourmet: The Elevated Art of Cannabis Cuisine,” a cookbook from the Los Angeles-based chef and writer known as JeffThe420

Chef, includes 100 recipes. With medicinal marijuana legal in 25 states, including Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia, the audience is growing for more-sophisticated edibles — like, say, latkes with cana-pear crème fraiche, krazy kale and hempseed salad, or hazy Thai wings.

JeffThe420Chef’s recipes were created over five years as he cooked for people with medical marijuana recommendations, many of whom were battling serious illness. He developed his own technique for infusing cannabis into canna-butter and canna-oil that are more mellow-tasting, while still imparting the psychoactive and therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. The chef, who also runs cannabis cooking classes, says he uses a pen name to keep attention focused on his work rather than his personality. “I like to keep a little mysterious,” he says.

Q. What’s the advantage of delivering medical marijuana through edibles?

A. For patients I cook for, they don’t want to smoke. They either can’t smoke because they have health issues and they can’t do it, or they don’t want to do it because of the health detriments of smoking. When you eat cannabis, it takes a lot longer to kick in, but it lasts a lot longer. If you’re suffering with PMS, you want to make sure you can work throughout the day.