Lazy cakes contain melatonin, which occurs naturally in the body and is a common sleep aid. But one toxicologist says that large quantities of melatonin can lead the central nervous system to slow down and cause trouble breathing.
Convenience stores are filled with energy-boosting products; it seems some companies would be happy if we never slept a wink.
But now there's a movement in the opposite direction: products with names such as Simmer, Unwind and Lazy Cakes. That last one, Lazy Cakes, is a particularly hot seller.
It's a reasonable suspicion for customers to be a little wary of the fudgy brownies with the psychedelic purple package for sale next to the cigarette lighters at gas stations. The label says Lazy Cakes are "The Original Relaxation Brownie." Even at $4 apiece, a clerk at a Charlotte, N.C., gas station says she sells about 36 a week.
In the five months since Lazy Cakes hit the market, co-creator Tim Barham says they're available in two dozen states and sales are doubling every month.
"It's definitely not a pot brownie," says Barham. "Things that are in this brownie have been used for years to relax. [Such as] melatonin, valerian root, rose hips. Standard stuff you can pretty much buy at any Walgreens or Walmart or anywhere."
A promotional box for Lazy Cakes like those seen in convenience stores in a growing number of states.
Those ingredients are true, but look up Lazy Cakes online and the secret to their initial success is pretty obvious. Rumors are rampant they contain the same synthetic marijuana compounds found in herbal incense products like Spice or K2.
"There is an effect with Lazy Cakes, but I wouldn't say it's comparable to marijuana at all," says Niki D'Andrea, who bought one while at a shop that sells drug paraphernalia.
