Editorial: Don’t Let THC Drinks Disappear From Retail

For beverage alcohol retailers, few categories have generated as much interest in recent years as hemp-derived THC beverages. In 2026, these products have moved far beyond experimentation and become a meaningful part of the product mix for most stores.

Now the category faces an existential deadline.

Federal legislation enacted in November 2025 changed the definition of hemp and established a limit of 0.4 milligrams of total THC per finished container. When that provision takes effect in December 2026, most hemp-derived THC beverages currently sold through traditional retail would no longer qualify as legal hemp products.

Congress still has time to act, and lawmakers have introduced proposals that could change the outcome. The American Hemp Protection Act would repeal the provision that created the new restrictions. The Hemp Planting Predictability Act would extend implementation from one year to three years, giving Congress and the industry more time to establish a regulatory framework.

Those efforts matter to beverage alcohol retailers.

THC beverages have become one of the industry’s answers to changing consumer behavior. As traditional beverage alcohol faces challenges with volumes and evolving consumption habits, THC drinks have given retailers another way to serve customers looking for social beverages with different effects and occasions.

They also represent something this industry needs right now: growth.

Removing these products from liquor store shelves would not necessarily remove consumer demand. It could instead shift purchases into cannabis dispensaries, illicit channels or whatever alternatives emerge under individual state laws. Beverage alcohol retailers that have invested in compliant products, staff education, shelf space and responsible sales practices could lose an emerging category through federal action rather than consumer choice.

That doesn’t mean THC beverages should exist without guardrails. Congress should establish standards for testing, labeling, serving sizes, age restrictions and responsible retailing. The beverage alcohol industry already understands how to operate within regulated markets.

Further, fans of these products do not want to buy them from dispensaries. These people prefer the convenience of liquor stores. And dispensaries do not want to install cold cases for beverages, which would take up a large portion of what are typically smaller retail layouts. The idea that THC drinks could shift easily into dispensaries is false, and grossly misreads their market.

Congress should act accordingly with safe, prudent business practices in mind. Our leaders should not effectively eliminate a category that consumers have embraced, and retailers have successfully brought into a controlled marketplace.

December is approaching quickly. What Congress does next deserves our attention.

Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics. Reach him at kswartz@epgacceleration.com. Read his recent piece, What the Kentucky Bourbon Festival Says About the U.S. Whiskey Industry.

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