Alcohol Industry Takes a Stand Against Proposed Federal Ban on Hemp Products

Nowadays, a popular THC-infused spirit alternative launched in 2023. (Photo: Nowadays)

A fight over the future of THC is brewing in the nation’s capital.

Earlier this month, a GOP-led House committee approved a 138-page spending bill that would prohibit the majority of consumable hemp products at the federal level. If passed, the bill would reverse a decision made under the first Trump administration that removed hemp — defined as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight — from the national list of Schedule 1 drugs.

The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America warns that the reversal would devastate a billion-dollar industry. Francis Creighton, President and CEO of the WSWA, insists that state regulators have already solved the issues at the heart of the bill, adding that a total ban on cannabinoids would only serve to fuel “bad actors potentially dealing in harmful products.”

“WSWA supports the subcommittee’s action to eliminate synthetic, unnatural cannabinoids that are a threat to public health and safety, but prohibition of all cannabinoids is not the answer… states have stepped up to fill the regulatory vacuum, and Congress must be careful not to undermine their progress,” Creighton wrote in a statement shared on X.

Since 2018, the federal government has permitted retailers to sell a variety of hemp beverages, flower and gummies usually advertised as containing delta-8 or delta-9 THC. Though these products don’t pack the same punch as what you’d find at a fully-fledged cannabis store, they do contain psychoactive compounds known to induce a mildly mind-altering state. Advocates credit the 2018 Farm Bill for legalizing this burgeoning category. Critics, who described delta-9 goods as a grey market workaround, call it the “Farm Bill loophole.”

Here enters the alcohol industry. Hemp-derived THC beverages are permitted at most liquor stores across the country, adding a lucrative source of income for retailers in an era when sales are wilting across the board. The underlying fear is that hemp criminalization is arriving at precisely the worst time.

Best Brands, a Tennessee-based distributor that until recently dealt only in wine, beer and spirits, is one of the companies betting big on the hemp category. Its website lists dozens of THC-derived products including gummies, infused-liquor alternatives, teas and a handful of sodas with names like Bubba Kush Root Beer and Purple Passion.

CEO Ryan Moses says that a reversal of the 2018 Farm Bill would erase years of careful planning and investment.

“Best Brands has invested heavily in this sector — hiring new employees, building responsible delivery infrastructure, and bringing our decades of experience and legitimacy to a marketplace that desperately needs accountability. This action threatens to erase those efforts overnight, resulting in job losses, economic harm, and a handover of the entire category to unlicensed bad actors,” Moses said.

According to WSWA President Francis Creighton, more than 30 state legislators have considered over 130 bills regarding hemp-derived products in the past year alone.

But not everyone is taking a pro-THC stance. At the end of last month, the Texas Legislature proposed a sweeping bill that would ban all hemp-derived products in the state. Governor Greg Abbot has yet to comment publicly on the legislation that currently sits on his desk awaiting a signature.