Intoxicating Hemp

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.

Dad Grass was crowned the champion of New Beverage Showdown 31, joining an elite cohort of well-known beverage brands such as Health-Ade and Poppi that have previously claimed victory in the bi-annual pitch competition.

Day Two of BevNET Live Summer 2026 featured more insights from venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, embracing AI in branding strategies and deep dives into the relaxation and intoxicating hemp drink categories.

JuneShine Brands isn’t stressing about November’s federal ban on hemp-derived THC products, which could wipe out its fast-growing Willie’s Remedy+ brand.

After over a decade ball-hawking in the backfield, former NFL star Micah Hyde is taking on a new position: hemp beverage entrepreneur. Following his retirement in January 2025, the Ohio native stepped into the beverage arena with Hyde’s Hail Mary, a line of Shandy-style low-dose THC drinks that’s aiming to recruit both football and beer lovers alike.

Mass retail giant Target is expanding sales of intoxicating hemp beverages, adding the products to stores in Florida, Texas and Illinois. 

Facing an ever-increasing likelihood that hemp THC beverages will be outlawed this fall, Nowadays is preparing for the long-run with its latest innovation: Nowadays Extra Light, a low-dose RTD line designed to be compliant with the upcoming regulatory requirements by using just 0.4 mg of THC and 5 mg of CBD per 12 oz. can.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) proposed legislation last week that would allow states to respectively determine the future of hemp-based product sales within their own borders.

THC drinks will have an expanded potential retail set in Minnesota. Despite an existential timeline ticking on the category’s future, beverage retailers continue to add intoxicating hemp drinks to store shelves. Target is the latest to go deeper in the set…at least in its home state.

If there’s a stay of execution, it’ll probably be at the last minute. That’s what hemp lobbyists and industry groups are starting to believe about the potential for a reprieve from the upcoming November 12 THC ban, according to the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives (CABA).

As Congress’s November deadline ticks closer for intoxicating hemp beverage makers, states are not waiting to pass their own regulations on if and where THC drinks can be sold.

Breakthru Beverage Group, one of the largest beverage distributors in the U.S., is jumping into the intoxicating hemp drink business.