hemp

drinks with addition of hemp (cannabis)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that “THC beverages” derived from hemp have exploded across America (at least in states where they are allowed by law). Time and again, due to the legal ambiguities and limitations posed by the 2018 Farm Bill, the THC beverage industry has advocated for regulation at both the state and federal levels. While certain states are eager to regulate this segment of the cannabis industry (see Minnesota, for example), others are not, and Congress has yet to take meaningful action on regulation.

In the past couple of weeks, I have been contacted by a few major news outlets about the legality of “THC beverages”. While it sounds like you can only find these products in a state-licensed cannabis dispensary, reporters are calling me about hemp-derived THC beverages that are cropping up for sale online and in major liquor stores across the country. Hemp-derived THC beverages are alcohol-free/non-alcoholic (“AF/NA”) drinks that are infused with delta-9 THC derived from hemp, usually along with other intoxicating cannabinoids, so that these beverages produce psychoactive effects without legally being dubbed “marijuana.”

How?

America’s Dairyland does not currently have any form of either medical or adult-use cannabis. The state has tried and failed at least a couple of times on convening medical cannabis legislation (see here on the latest attempt earlier this year). At the same time, Wisconsin is surrounded by three states that have both medical and adult-use cannabis programs (Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan), with Canada to the north, which legalized cannabis in 2018.

As the 2024 Minnesota Legislative Session came to a chaotic close on May 20, numerous changes to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 342 were sent to the Governor’s desk to build on the already existing cannabis regulatory structure. On May 24, Governor Tim Walz signed the amendments to Chapter 342, which address social equity provisions, preapproval process for social equity applicants, the larger application and licensing process, and consumer safety.

In November of last year, we wrote about how Total Wine & More jumped into the cannabis drinks arena in Minnesota. Since then (and probably before that), there’s been an influx of “THC Beverages” hitting the marketplace, and I don’t mean the state-licensed cannabis marketplace either. At this point, you can buy these drinks online or in person at a number of retail outlets and locations that don’t have any kind of state cannabis licensing at all (here’s one in Alabama, for example). How, you may be asking, is this legally possible and why are these libations picking up great speed with consumers?

Overall, 2023 was a tough economic year for the entire cannabis industry. And with lean economic times comes a myriad of bad behavior, and cannabis is no exception. Every year, I like to put out a list of the top cannabis scams and swindles so that cannabis consumers, companies, and investors don’t wind up buying into one of these schemes.

drinks with addition of hemp (cannabis)

Many states with cannabis legalization have manufacturer and dispensary licensees that make and sell cannabis-infused beverages and even cannabis-infused drink mixes. What you don’t usually see is a major liquor retailer carrying any form of cannabis drink. Why? First, states with cannabis legalization on the whole ban alcohol and cannabis being mixed together in a single beverage, and, second, major liquor retailers won’t bother getting a state cannabis license due to a multitude of legal issues, including federal law and how it conflicts with cannabis negatively impacts alcohol licensing. However, Total Wine & More (“Total Wine”) is breaking the mold by offering cannabis drinks in Minnesota.

Creating further confusion and uncertainty in the hemp derived cannabidiol (CBD) markets, the FDA has determined that the existing regulatory frameworks for food and supplements are not appropriate for CBD. The FDA cited various safety concerns as the impetuous in making this determination.

“FDA has concluded that a new regulatory pathway for CBD is …

This is the final post in the blog series. Read part 1 and part 2.

While AK Futures LLC v. Boyd St. Distro, LLC (9th Cir. May 19, 2022) may seem like a golden opportunity for companies in the intoxicating hemp market, it is unlikely to be much of a windfall beyond the near future. Those relying on this decision to provide legitimacy to their business should proceed with extreme caution based on previous responses to loopholes and governmental eagerness to regulate intoxicants such as delta-8. To believe that these products will be held to a lesser standard than state-regulated (and soon enough, federally-regulated) marijuana products would be short-sighted and naïve.

Scientist checking hemp flowers

As mentioned in the first post of this series, it is unlikely that AK Futures LLC v. Boyd St. Distro, LLC (9th Cir. May 19, 2022) will be viewed as the conclusive victory that some in the delta-8 THC arena are hoping for. In this post, we will explore what might be accomplished by (or more accurately, what backlash might come from) this and other similar decisions.