ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, an employee of fintech company Cindicator stopped by a conference called Crypto Sanctum held at Beneville Studios in New York’s Flatiron neighborhood. Organized by a group called “The Decentralists” and a crypto project called IOVO, the Crypto Sanctum promised to “connect people with right opportunities in the fast moving crypto and blockchain space.” Tickets cost $500. At the event the Cindicator employee ate lunch, which included sushi and tea, and chatted with a few attendees before leaving for a nearby meeting with her boss.

An hour into that meeting, she could barely speak. She noticed the room was spinning and it was a struggle to stand up. “I realized I was totally wasted,” she said. At first she thought it was sleep deprivation—she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep—but that had never given her the spins like this. She told her boss she couldn’t work anymore because she felt stoned and didn’t know how, which she says was embarrassing to admit.

The Cindicator employee remembers walking home, but doesn’t remember the route she took. In subsequent days, several of the event’s 200 attendees discussed similar experiences on Telegram, the crypto world’s preferred messaging service. One attendee said he thought he’d gotten food poisoning. Another said she’d experienced panic attacks. A third reported he had heard the food was infused with marijuana but felt the dosage was “certainly heavy.”

The Crypto Sanctum’s menu, viewed by WIRED, subtly noted that some of the condiments served were “infused.” But some attendees said they did not see the menu or understand its message. A few menu items explicitly stated that they contain cannabis—cocktails, cannabis-marinated olives, and sugar for coffee and tea—but others simply say “infused” without explaining what the infusion is.

The menu invites attendees to “experience inspiring culinary arts highlighting the benefits of herbs.” According to the menu, MagicalButter.com, a company which sells appliances for making “botanical”-infused butters, provided catering, which included sushi with “infused wasabi and magical Ponzu sauce,” and a taco station with “infused hot sauce.”

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.wired.com