THC drinks are flying off shelves. Can it last?
CNN
In June 2023, Jon Halper started selling THC beverages at Top Ten Liquors, his chain of Minnesota stores. The drinks, which contain the main intoxicating chemical compound found in cannabis, were a massive hit.
In June 2023, Jon Halper started selling THC beverages at Top Ten Liquors, his chain of Minnesota stores. The drinks, which contain the main intoxicating chemical compound found in cannabis, were a massive hit. “Immediately, the sales took off,” said Halper. “We’ve never seen anything explosive like this.” After just two years, THC beverages make up about 15% of overall sales, he said. “It’s hard to believe this growth isn’t going to be astronomical.” The time is right for a THC beverage boom. Many Americans are embracing a California sober lifestyle — drinking less alcohol, which they see as harmful to health, and trying out marijuana instead. A study published in 2024 found that a higher number of Americans reported using cannabis every day than drinking alcohol daily. And thanks to what many consider to be a loophole in the 2018 farm bill, THC beverage makers have been able to rapidly launch their products across the country with little oversight. Now, states are trying to make sense of the bill’s language, setting up their own regulations and raising questions for the future of the fast-growing industry. For years, beverage companies toyed with the idea of using THC in drinks. But cannabis is a tricky business. Marijuana is a “schedule I controlled substance” in the United States, meaning companies that sell marijuana products legally don’t get certain tax benefits. The classification also makes it hard for those firms to get funding from financial institutions wary of breaking federal laws.
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