ButACake CEO Matha Figaro explained the recent recall of their cannabis infused peach drink in a can and promoted their new watermelon mint drink.
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They first launched a cherry hibiscus drink as the 1st infused cannabis drink in a can exclusively available in New Jersey cannabis dispensaries in April 2026. ButACake wanted to quickly roll out the “Peach Elixir” drink next.
However, in May 2026, the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) announced “CannPowerment LLC has initiated a voluntary recall of specific lots of the ButACake Peach Elixir drink “following reports of potential packaging and structural compromise.”
They said that “according to the manufacturer, the recall was initiated out of caution while the licensee investigates the root cause of the packaging issue, in coordination with the NJ-CRC. At this time, no adverse events have been reported.”
The notification was featured on the CRC website from May 29th to July 14th 2026.
ButACake CEO Explains Peach Drink Recall
Some cans were damaged, and a dispensary owner complained. The recall had nothing to do with the drink’s quality.
“The product is safe. It has never tested to have anything that has ever hurt anybody, still to this day,” Cannpowerment/ButACake CEO Matha Figaro told Heady NJ.
Aluminum cans are easily damaged.
“They sent one email and decided that I didn’t respond fast enough. Me responding within an hour was not fast enough. So, the retailer decided over a holiday weekend… to call the CRC,” she explained. “And unfortunately, the vernacular that they used with the CRC was enough to cause panic.”
Figaro said she cannot say who the retailer was for fear of retaliation.
“The CRC did not make me recall my products. I did this all on myself,” she noted. “The reason I pulled it off the market was I just felt like there was too much speculation and I’m not willing to allow speculation to fuck my shit up.”
“It was stupid. And all it did was expose manufacturers to the fact that 300 retailers all have different SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) we have not seen, but we’re supposed to follow them,” Figaro argued.
“I could have gone out of business if I didn’t have an investor who was willing to save me because of this self-recall,” she noted.
The peach drinks have not yet been replaced, while another shipment of cherry hibiscus drinks went out. Sometime in August, a new batch will be available in dispensaries, Figaro explained.
NJ Cannabis Recall Issues
“Recalls happen every single day in food all day long,” she noted.
Figaro alleged that hemp drink cans often explode. But because they don’t need to be reported in Metrc, it is not well-known.
“The CRC to this day does not have an established recall process,” she argued.
The CRC did not respond to questions about hemp cans or recall processes prior to publication, except to note they have a Recall page on their website.
Only one other recall has occurred under the CRC with Green Medicine by Green Joy in July 2024.
In March 2021, the NJ Department of Health recalled moldy medical cannabis flower grown by the Multi-State Operator (MSO) Curaleaf and sold by the MSO Green Thumb Industries (GTI) Rise after Heady NJ published a story about a cannabis patient harmed by consuming moldy weed.
Unfortunately, large Multi-State Operators (MSOs) have had several products recalled elsewhere due to issues with mold, yeast, and bacteria as well. So, it makes many cannabis consumer advocates suspicious.
ButACake Debuts Infused Watermelon Mint Drinks
ButACake infused watermelon mint drinks debuted this week in a few NJ dispensaries including:
- Bud2Bloom dispensary in Netcong, Morris County.
- Urb’n dispensary in Newark in Essex County.
- Shipwrecked in Neptune City in Monmouth County.
- Shore House Canna in Cape May in Cape May County.
Figaro explained why she decided to debut infused watermelon mint drinks.
“Buddy of mine was on a golf course, and he was like yo, I was drinking this watermelon mint juice, and it’s delicious, and I want it to have weed in it,” she noted. “So, I was like, we’re doing watermelon mint this summer. It was that simple.”
“It’s sweet. It’s refreshing. It’s clean. It’s juicy. It’s vibrant. I love it,” Figaro declared.
She was eager to sell 4 and 10 packs of drinks. Unfortunately, products are individually priced, which excludes a buy-in-bulk discount that price-conscious consumers might like.
Like many, Figaro also wants to produce drinks with more than the 5 MG of THC limited imposed by the State.
ButACake CEO Background
She has been a leading cannabis advocate and entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of the NJ cannabis edibles market. Under her, ButACake debuted the first infused brownies and cookies for sale in New Jersey cannabis dispensaries.
She takes great pride in doing so as an underground legacy to legal Black female entrepreneuring pioneer.
While initially operating via a production deal with Columbia Care, ButACake has since opened its own facility.
