Intoxicating Hemp

Lollapalooza has added a new starring act: THC drinks.

U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced a long-awaited hemp legalization bill today, seeking to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for hemp-derived consumer products ahead of the looming November ban.

Despite a looming regulatory ban, hemp beverages are booming. The category grew 133% year-over-year between 2024 and 2025, according to a new report by the Hemp Beverage Alliance.

The country’s second-largest grocery retail chain is reportedly moving into hemp THC drinks.

A collective of hemp beverage stakeholders and interest groups is attempting to unite the fractured industry under a new bill that could stave off the restrictions set to take effect in November and bring clarity to future regulation.

Cann is the latest brand to iterate out of cannabinoid-infused drinks while also doubling down in the months leading up to Congress’s November ban.

Four Loko-maker Phusion Projects has licensed some of its brand assets to Chuck It LLC for use on intoxicating hemp beverages.

Hemp industry advocates are celebrating the inclusion of pro-hemp language in a recent White House letter to Congress regarding a supplemental budget request.

Phusion Projects is licensing “brand assets” to another firm that has launched Nine Loko, described as a “flavor first, perception-bending jazzy cannabinoid juice.”

Despite functional ingredients that can get consumers high, BRĒZ is a prime example of a company with lofty growth hopes getting dragged down by the financial realities of scaling efficiently. But they’re working on it.

Ten Ohio intoxicating hemp businesses can resume sales after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the state “from taking any criminal, civil, administrative, or regulatory enforcement action” against them through June 29 (so long as they stay within the parameters of the 2018 Farm Bill).

Daizy’s Social Soda founding partner Jill Johnson, Southern Crown Partners Chief Administration Officer Justin Ashby and Diana Eberlein, Chair of the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives spoke at BevNET Live NYC last week to discuss what’s next for intoxicating hemp.

Restaurant owners have thrown their weight behind the hemp beverage debate, asking Congress to enact a two-year delay on an impending Nov. 12 ban on intoxicating hemp usage in food and beverage products.

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) is the latest Republican lawmaker to put forward potential legislation that would stave off the November 12 ban on intoxicating hemp drinks, putting them in a regulatory framework similar to alcohol.