Carl's Jr to be first US fast food chain to sell CBD-laced burger

[TAOS, New Mexico] Carl's Jr will become the first fast food chain to sell a CBD-infused hamburger when its "Rocky Mountain High Cheeseburger Delight" goes on sale in Denver on Saturday, the company said.

The Tennessee-based chain is selling the burger for just one day at one location in north-east Denver as part of its strategy to test out "bold and unexpected" flavours, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The burger has a "Santa Fe Sauce" infused with hemp-based CBD-oil, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis that can promote calmness and relaxation, but will not get you high.

"CBD is one of the hottest culinary trends right now, and what better place to test this new burger than in Denver, a city that has been a trailblazer in the CBD movement," said Carl's Jr spokesman Candice Jacobson.

Recreational use of cannabis was legalised in Colorado in 2014. The CBD oil in the burgers is sourced from local company Bluebird Botanicals.

The Carl's Jr chain, owned by privately-held CKE Restaurants Holding Inc, may expand sales of the burger, as regulations allow, Ms Jacobson added.

With pickled jalapeños and pepper jack cheese, the burger will cost US$4.20 - a number that is slang for smoking cannabis and the date US cannabis celebrations take place each year. 

REUTERS