THC beverages are extraordinary shapeshifters.
Excluding plain water, there's no other drink that enjoys such a breadth of uses. People consume them alone at home to unwind after work. Others bring them to parties in place of a six-pack of beer. Still others will drink one before a long run or a Pilates class. And some people swear THC beverages help them lock in on mundane tasks like vacuuming their house, walking the dog, or raking leaves.
If and when it's available for sale, these drinks can be social lubricant or solo optimizer, wine replacement or functional energy drink. If there's a mood you're trying to achieve, guaranteed there's a THC beverage brand marketing itself as the solution.
To be both medicine and vice is a remarkable duality. Some THC beverage brands like Uncle Arnie's, or Cheech & Chong's High & Dry embrace classic stoner tropes: splashes of tie-dye, cans with peace signs, the promise of "getting high." They feel indulgent, escapist, beer-adjacent. Others, like BRĒZ or BLNCD, lean hard the other direction, designed to be more at home at a juice bar than a frat house: sleek and minimal labels, mellow colors, repeated use of the word "zen." If not purely medicinal, they're certainly wellness-aligned, something you'd drink to soothe anxiety before bed or to reduce irritability when you're on your period.
Can a beverage really be both? It's a critical question for a category still in its infancy.
Public awareness, let alone understanding, of THC drinks is low. Laws vary state to state, and these products are still illegal at the federal level -- many Americans are confused about the legality of intoxicating beverages made from hemp and cannabis.
Even Minnesota, the first state to legalize the sale of hemp-derived THC, has yet to reach a majority of consumers. Per Top Ten Liquors, the state's largest retailer of hemp-derived drinks, fewer than 20 percent of shoppers purchase one. THC drinks are very much in the process of introducing themselves to the public, and brands are doing so from varied, even conflicting, angles. Some are low-dose, cut-loose party fuel akin to a beer or glass of wine. Others are high-dose, quasi-pharmaceutical relief designed to ameliorate pain and glue your back to the couch. The friction can be bewildering.
Ellen Wilcox heard this time and again in interviews with THC customers. She leads research and insights for Listen Co., a venture capital firm focused on early-stage consumer brands. This spring, she spearheaded the company's reporting on people's motivations for using THC drinks, which revealed "deep, deep tension." Despite being sold in grocery stores and promoted by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Rogen and other celebs, THC drinks do still carry a stigma in some circles.