Patch Investigates: Sweet Treat Touted as 'Relaxation Brownie'

They may look like a regular brownie, but Lazy Cakes, the "relaxation brownies," are not made with grandma's usual recipe. In fact some say the packaging is designed to resemble a "pot brownie."

Maplewood and Brentwood Patch visited a number of local gas stations and convenience stores and couldn't find the treat currently in stock, but some stations have carried them within the last few days. Stores throughout St. Louis County also carry them.

According to the ingredients listed on the packaging, Lazy Cakes contain eight milligrams of melatonin, a hormone usually marketed as a sleeping aid. The brownies cost $2.99 each and gas stations have been selling this product for a few months now. The State of Massachusetts seeks to ban the product, as noted in an article in The Huffington Post.

QuikTrip gas stations once carried the brownie but corporate pulles the product off the shelves three weeks ago, said Thorn Brugh, manager of public and government affairs for QT.

"We carried it for a very limited time," Brugh said. "We felt uncomfortable with the product, so we volunteerly pulled it off."

Though the product is labeled "For adults only: not suitable for children," customers do not need any form of ID to purchase it.

"These were being sold to kids, so we said 'No, we are not going to be a part of that,'" Brugh said. "It's just something we don't want to be known for selling. We shouldn't have sold them to begin with, but we corrected our mistake."

Aaron Brinkley, a certified sports nutrition specialist, works at a Manchester nutritional supplement store that carries melatonin in the form of capsules. Brinkley said melatonin is a natural hormone that the body secretes and which most people are "pretty well loaded with." Once people get older, Brinkley said, the body stops producing as much melatonin.

Brinkley said the recommended dosage for an adult is two or three milligrams, one or two hours before bedtime.

"One pill will knock you out," Brinkley said. "Something like this (Lazy Cakes)—that's a lot."

Melatonin, as with some vitamins and other nutritional supplements, is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Lazy Cakes, therefore, are labeled as a "Dietary Supplement-not for food use."

HBB, LLC, is the Tennessee-based company that created Lazy Cakes. It was also the wholesaler of the product "Drank," a so-called relaxation-inducing beverage.

In 2010, the FDA sent a warning letter to the maker of "Drank." In that letter, the FDA outlines the possible health problems related to melatonin, including drops in blood pressure, lower sperm count and concern over melatonin use and pregnancy.

Dr. Tara Todd, a dietitian with St. Louis Children's Hospital, told Patch that she is not aware of anyone ever overdosing on melatonin. Todd said, however, children should not consume this product because their bodies already produce a large amount of the hormone.

"My concern would be the safety of the melatonin," Todd said. "Where did it come from? What is it extracted from? That's the problem of the melatonin product, we usually don't know the source of the melatonin because it is not regulated by the FDA."

Jennifer Rodstrom, who handles PR for Lazy Cakes, said the company was currently unable to provide interviews. Patch received a press release on behalf of Terry Harris, CEO of HBB LLC.

"We created Lazy Cakes to provide adults with a great-tasting way to combat the stress associated with our fast-paced lives," the press release states. "Ingredients include items that anyone can purchase at any health food or vitamin store; these are melatonin, Valerian Root Extract, Rose Hips Extract, and Passion Flower."

Harris said in the press release Lazy Cakes are clearly labeled to be intended for adults only.

"While in-store placement of our product is the decision of each individual store owner or manager, we encourage stores to place these products alongside the energy shots or with other dietary supplements that are also produced for adults," Harris said in the press release.

In an April interview with a local Memphis newspaper, Harris said the demographic of the product is not college kids, in spite of the product's resemblance to a marijuana brownie.

"A lot of college kids eat them, but we've heard of people in their 60s eating them after dinner to go to sleep," Harris said in the Memphis Flyer article.

James Stevenson works at the on the corner of Manchester Road and McCausland Avenue. He said the business didn't sell anything like the brownies and probably wouldn't because of their clientele. 

"We're trying to keep it neighborhood friendly, family friendly," he said.