MONTEGO BAY, St James—Canna Energy, an energy drink produced from hemp oil, and distributed by Taylor Whittaker Enterprises, has recently hit the shelves on the Jamaican market.

According to head of Taylor Whittaker Enterprises, Rudyard Whittaker, the energy drink, derived from hemp oil, provides a wealth of health benefits and is not accompanied by side effects.

“We want the public to know that you can have an energy drink without the side effects that they are sometimes known for. It’s organic, it’s gluten- free, it has Omega-3, Omega 6, vitamin B12 and vitamin B3 — so it’s a healthier alternative to what Jamaica had before. That’s what we are offering — a healthier alternative to what is already in the marketplace,” the head honcho of the over-25-year-old Whittaker Enterprises noted.

He further noted: “There is no THC to be found in this product. it does not give you a headache when you drink it, it doesn’t give you a crash when you drink it, it doesn’t give you a palpitating heart; but what it is, is that it gives you energy. It also tastes excellent and is an excellent chaser.”

Whittaker revealed plans to manufacture the product as soon as the hemp plant is given the green light to be cultivated locally, but presently his company sources the canned energy drink from Colorado, USA.

“This is actually manufactured in Colorado and imported in Jamaica. We are the sole distributors of the drink and we import the finished product from the USA,” he shared.

“Jamaica is not allowed to grow hemp as yet. When we get to grow hemp and have sufficient quantity of it being produced here, then the idea is that we will be looking to going into production here so that we can benefit from it also,” he said.

Already on the shelves in Mandeville, May Pen, Kingston, Whittaker revealed that plans are advanced to make the product available in Montego Bay and other parts of the island soon, before branching out to other Caribbean markets.

“We want to establish a base here (in Jamaica) first and then branch out to the rest of the Caribbean,” Whittaker said.

He noted that the suggested retail price for a can of Canna Energy is $350, “which is reasonable”.

“The price is very competitive with other products and this is a premium product, a far superior product to what is out there before. We are making it affordable to the Jamaican public because we want them to have a healthier alternative,” he said.

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer at the recently held Build Expo at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, which featured hemp-based building materials, Whittaker claimed that so far the feedback from persons who have consumed Canna Energy has been positive.

“We haven’t found a customer as yet that has tasted the product or even seen the can and not like it. We have not found that one yet,” he said.

“So, Canna Energy hemp is a play on the word, so it’s actually a can of energy.”