If the explosion of the cannabis drink market can be encapsulated in a single idea, it’s the story of a market – for better or worse – that’s outpaced (and outfoxed) regulators at nearly every turn. But those days could be dwindling.
That’s because, with still no action at the federal level, states have busied themselves with trying to wrangle the runaway category and align its complex entanglement of safety and commercial concerns, with potential significant impacts on alcohol. Here’s what we’re watching:
Minnesota has served as a national example of competent state-level cannabis policy, with beverage makers being one of the biggest winners. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign an omnibus bill soon that would, among other things, allow vendors to sample products at cannabis events, allow local manufacturers to export low-potency hemp products out-of-state, and also restrict one-serving beverages to no more than 10mg THC.
Meanwhile, Delaware may be close to integrating THC-infused drinks into the three-tier system for beverage alcohol – great news for alcohol trade groups that are advocating to co-opt distribution of hemp-based products, but bad news (in the short-term, at least) for bars and restaurants. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Debra Heffernan, has framed the issue as a public safety concern, citing a lack of guidelines on how to safely sell and serve THC-infused drinks in on-premise venues.
- Florida is also considering a bill to limit THC drink sales to licensed liquor stores, while Alabama just passed a law putting hemp drinks under the purview of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, with some distribution to grocery stores allowed.
In Rhode Island, hemp-derived THC products are already available via around 140 licensed retailers and 11 distributors, but a new bill proposes to allow wholesalers to sell to liquor stores, bars and restaurants for an increased annual fee of $1,500 (up from $500 currently). Bars and restaurants could do the same for $250 per year. That hasn’t gone down well with the state’s cannabis dispensaries, who pay $30,000 annually for their licenses.
While the details change, the overarching message remains the same: after the opening of a sprawling frontier, all parties are eager to see some type of order installed, but your perspective on what that order may depend on when you entered the game.
For alcohol vendors, including bars and restaurants, there’s acknowledgment that they can’t afford to miss out on the THC boom – even bar guru Jon Taffer is sounding the alarm. But for brands and entrepreneurs that have navigated the grey area and carved out a piece of the cannabis market, there’s concern that hard-fought gains could be quickly erased.