A rare interview with maker of “patient made, patient approved” drops on new potency and the slightest of name changes
Predictions can be difficult in Massachusetts cannabis. A seeming drink boom last year, for example, was sidelined by a sudden surge in hemp-derived beverages turning up in liquor stores.
One safe bet, however, is that high-potency tinctures and pourable concentrates will continue to increase in popularity. Though hardly all the same, products that fit into those categories can pack major doses into small convenient vessels, and for that and other reasons are attractive to serious stoners with high tolerances and patients alike.
Tincture buyers also tend to be a loyal bunch, and one dedicated legion looks to Howls, a bottled miracle for many made with a broad-spectrum whole-plant infusion. The company’s founder, Peter Glantz, has been active for more than a decade and uses natural methods that are millennia old. At the same time, he recently reworked his formula to meet the needs of modern patients and consumers.
We asked Glantz about the new exciting changes he’s brought to the ancient concept behind Howls, as well as his thoughts on the potential of tinctures in the Mass market right now.
In the beginning …
I started Howls as a patient in 2012. For seven years, the motto was “made by a patient for patients.” I first shared the tincture with patients in a coop and then sold it via a dispensary in Rhode Island.
Even though Howls has also been recreational since 2019, we make our decisions based on safety and efficacy first because we personally know people [who use the product]—from severely autistic non-verbal kids, to elders in hospice who depend on it daily.
On selling in recreational dispensaries …
The benefit of adult use is that it removes the barrier of getting a doctor’s permission to access cannabis as a medicine for the huge number of people with chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia. This history means tens of thousands of people use Howls, many daily for over 10 years.
I most of all want to thank the budtenders especially—they play such an important role as guides. We haven’t done a lot of marketing and press, but I want to spread the word to everyone who relies on our tinctures that we are making an upgrade: people can now use 80% less Howls tincture to get the same effect.
On the big change …
This has been two years in the making with testing and feedback from longtime users and our team. We believe it’s better—improved flavor, simpler measuring, less packaging, more cost effective per serving. … The core hasn’t changed—Howls is still flower in a bottle—just now with more flower and less bottle.
It’s important [that] people who currently use Howls convert the amount they use. We made a conversion guide to ease the transition. People who use Howls can scan the QR code on the box, get a paper copy from the dispensary, or visit howls.com/guide.
On the new potency …
We used to have single and double-strength formulas that we’ve consolidated into a single new strength that works for low tolerance folks and heavy hitters. Our Nighttime, Anytime, and Daytime formulas are now all totalling 500mg THC plus the complete spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes that mirror the source strain.
There is a new dropper with a bulb on the end that measures one drop to equal 1mg THC. I’m low tolerance, so I just use three or four drops when I used to use half a dropper. Way better. Less is totally more. There’s 10 markings on the dropper in 5mg increments, making it more precise for everyone in between.
For high tolerance folks, it’s 50mg THC for a single 1 milliliter dropper full. Heavy smokers with high tolerances love it because it’s flower in a bottle and they can get where they need to be without all the lung impact.
[Also], the high CBD (10:1) tincture is now 500mg CBD and 50mg THC, and the CBD-THC (1:1) is 250mg CBD and 250mg THC.
On manufacturing and methodology …
We infuse cured buds and live kief directly into organic avocado oil using the same method people have been doing for 5,000 years, which is why it has strain-specific effects. No mixing in isolates and terpenes after the fact to create human-derived formulations. That’s a pharmaceutical approach based on human knowledge. Howls has a plant-medicine approach based on plant wisdom. That is why we say, The plant is the teacher.
We do have registered trade secrets on how to use traditional whole plant infusion efficiently enough to be commercially viable. It’s not as efficient as newly developed extraction techniques, but it makes a tincture that feels like flower because the cannabinoids and terpenes are absorbed directly into the tincture. Part of our mission is to keep this valuable plant medicine available on the market because research and anecdotal evidence shows it works better even if it costs more.
On strains and sourcing …
Nighttime is LA Kush Cake, Anytime is Temple Kush, and Daytime is Lemon Jeffery. The High CBD and CBD-THC are blends of CBD-dominant strain Lifter and THC-dominant strain Temple Kush. … Howls tastes like flowers, lasts for hours. The new upgrades are super floral. Sixteen or more terpenes are detected by the labs in each formula—all straight infused from the flower. A couple budtenders recently guessed the strain by the taste alone.
On flavor …
We have no sugars or flavorings—just the taste of the source strain. We make it with cured flower and live kief—no isolates, distillates, solvents, or extracted terpenes reintroduced later. The results are tinctures with cannabinoids and terpenes absorbed at their naturally occurring ratios—that’s what makes strains have different effects, and that’s why I believe so many smokers tell us Howls is the only alternative to smoking that works for them.
As for market research [that says] people want sugary sweet flavors—makes sense. People like sweet stuff. But, in terms of the market and business decisions, if you believe sales data from BDSA or Lit Alerts, Howls outperforms syrups head to head. Coming from an herbalist tradition, I don’t see them as tinctures really. So, we focus on what we’re best at and what we love—the flower.
Of course there are definitely people who want syrups and liquid gummy bears—that’s all cool. Enjoy! It’s just mostly a different group than want a purist cannabis experience and flavor. They want Howls, and that’s who we serve. I mean, people put Howls on pizza, popcorn, or bake it into brownies or drop it in tea and coffee. Salad dressings or smoothies too. Tons of things. It’s ritualistic and daily. We hear a lot of folks put it in coffee in the morning to start the day and a bit in chamomile tea at night to help with rest.
On their minor name change …
We’ve changed our name from Howl’s with an apostrophe to Howls without one. Twelve years ago, I used Howl as my pseudonym, so … Howl’s Tincture. The wolf is on the label because the biggest blessing of this valuable plant medicine for me was how by relieving my pain and anxiety from a degenerative eye condition it helped reconnect me with my family, my friends, and a community of patients—my pack.
At this point, it’s not about me anymore. The mission is about serving everyone who can benefit from this valuable plant medicine made using this 5,000-year-old method. So, the name change is to represent the many different but connected voices of the pack, the stories—the howls.
