Reporting in from NABCA Admin 2026
Control state leaders and other alcohol industry members traveled to sunny coastal Biloxi, MS this past October for the 2026 NABCA Administrators Conference. Each year, this annual event takes place in the current NABCA Chairman’s home state. Accordingly, Chris Graham welcomed colleagues to two days of educational panels, speakers, networking and hopefully not too much gambling at The Beau Rivage in Biloxi.
After a round of committee meetings, the keynote speaker took the stage. For 2026 this was Ryan Leaf, a former NFL quarterback who famously flamed out of the league after the San Diego Chargers drafted him number two overall in 1998, one pick after Peyton Manning. Leaf’s troubles did not end there. Opioid addiction and mental health struggles landed him in prison for several years. While incarcerated, Leaf learned the power of helping others, paired with honest self-reflection, and turned his life around. He is now a national football announcer and motivational speaker, sharing hard truths learned from his public downfall and tremendous recovery.
“Life isn’t fair; it’s how you deal with it that matters,” Leaf said in his keynote. “You all have a choice to deal with something in a healthy, positive manner, or in a negative, toxic way.”
“The best advice my brain coach ever gave me was, ‘Do simple better, Ryan’,” he added.
The panel “Closing the Loophole: THC Products in My Control State” took a curious turn against the popular, fast-selling hemp-derived beverages. Panelist Andy Deloney, Senior Vice President & Head of State Public Policy for DISCUS, said that his organization was not in favor of extending the deadline to December to close the federal loophole that allows cannabis drinks at retail. Implying that DISCUS would be okay with the growing category significantly declining overnight.
“We have created a marketplace without regulations,” he argued against hemp-derived beverages. “Unlike with alcohol, where we had regulations created first, and then the marketplace.”
“We don’t have roadside testing for THC,” Deloney added. “It’s critical that people do the policy work first” before he would feel comfortable with this new category.
When asked about the enormously negative financial impact of limiting cannabis beverages — an economic lifeline for alcohol retailers during a broader industry pullback — Deloney again called for regulations.
As for his thoughts on whether the U.S. Congress would approve regulations before the December loophole deadline, “We’re not sure what’s going to happen next. Not trying to get political, but with this White House and this Congress, it can be unpredictable.”
If the federal loophole closes, regulating cannabis beverages would fall to the states. This would cause enforcement challenges.
“Whose jurisdiction do these products fall under?” asked panelist Carrie Christofes, Executive Director, National Liquor Law Enforcement Association. “Many states are still playing catchup in terms of where that jurisdiction lies. Lots of these questions are still very convoluted from state to state.”
“States with adult-use cannabis laws already in place will be ahead of the game when [the loophole closure] takes affect in December,” she added.
Christofes also urged continued discussion among states, to share best practices in this area. “The states can learn from one another,” she said. “Those states that are ahead in this can share what they have learned with the other states.”
The panel “Beyond the Bottle” focused on how experiential events like master distiller meet-and-greets can help drive sales.
“We all know how the market is changing,” said host Anne Dimmick, Senior Director of Commercial Strategy and Growth for Ohio Liquor. “We’re all looking for ways to drive traffic into the store.”
Bringing in a member of whiskey royalty like Bruce Russell will attract crowds of bourbon enthusiasts.
“For these people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime to meet someone that they idolize,” said panelist Joe Roszman, State Manager for Ohio and the Mountain States for Campari America. “But we don’t need Bruce Russell to move something like Russell’s Reserve 15. The master distiller events help move our core portfolio. We can see that after someone like Bruce comes in, our core sales will far exceed our special-product sales.”
Panelist Ray Miller, Ohio State Manager for Sazerac Company, echoed the positive impact on standard bottle sales after an experiential event.
“What makes control states so good for something like this is the richness in data that we have in the control states,” Miller said. “We can see what’s actually scanning through the register and what the actual lift is.”
“After all, the goal is to go beyond this being a transaction; the goal is to create a lifelong fan,” he added.
Current consumer beliefs and preferences were topics of the panel “Health and Consumption Trends.”
“The group of people who that alcohol has a negative effect on your health has grown from 30% to more than 50% in the last decade,” said host Kedar Dange, Sr. Public Policy Analyst at NABCA.
“Consumers who prefer liquor over beer or wine has risen to more than 30% for the first time ever,” he added. “Trends also suggest that consumers are seeking out premium products while decreasing consumption.” In other words: drinking less but better.
Panelist Kate Frey, VP of Advocacy of New Futures, shared another eye-opening state: Nonalcoholic beverage sales in New Hampshire jumped from $41,000 to $607,000 in 2025-2026.
Meanwhile, kratom — an unregulated stimulant derived from a Southeast Asian tree leaf — has seen as 1,200% increase in sales. Kratom and nitrous oxide, often sold as a flavored product, have become more commonly abused in recent years by underage youths.
Elsewhere, the GLP-1 movement continues. A whopping 11% of the U.S. population now takes a GLP-1 drug, up from 8% in 2024, according to William Kerr, Senior Scientist and Scientific Director at the Alcohol Research Group.
“Most of these people have obesity and/or diabetes, and are over 50 years old,” he said. “Of these users, 35% to 75% stop using GLP-1 within a year. The cost and the side effects are the biggest reasons why they quit.”
NABCA Admin 2026 wrapped up with the annual StateWays Best Practices Awards. Our annual event recognizes the best programs in the control state systems from the past year, including our 2026 overall winner, Ohio Liquor. Congrats again to all winners!
Next year, NABCA Admin will take place in Michigan.
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