UPDATES ON MISSOURI, PENNSYLVANIA AND COLORADO
Missouri
Missouri took a meaningful step forward last night. After an extended filibuster, the Senate passed HB 2641 and sent it back to the House before it goes to the Governor. The bill is restrictive in its broader treatment of intoxicating hemp, but it preserves a defined runway for beverage products. Under the bill, hemp beverage products may continue to be sold through November 12th. If the relevant federal language is extended, that date would move as well. HBA’s work in the state helped keep beverages in the market as the legislation moved through the Senate. News here.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania continues to move in a constructive direction. Draft legislation is advancing with support from key allies, including Representative Malagari, and the conversation remains focused on creating a viable regulatory framework for hemp-derived THC beverages. HBA’s lobbyist have helped keep the discussion practical, informed, and tailored to the beverage category. Pennsylvania remains a state where there is real opportunity to build a durable model that addresses safety, labeling, and age-restricted access while preserving a meaningful route to market. News here.
Colorado
Colorado is also seeing movement through beverage-specific legislation. The current proposal would create a clearer path for hemp-derived THC beverages in bars, restaurants, and other retail settings, and it reflects a more developed conversation around how these products should be regulated. That is an important development in a state that has taken a narrower view of intoxicating hemp. The details will matter, particularly with respect to potency, channel restrictions, and product standards, but the legislation presents a serious opportunity to improve the market for compliant beverage products. News here.
HBA SUBMITS COMMENTS TO KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE IN REGARDS TO HOUSE BILL 9
HBA recently submitted comments in regards to House Bill 9. Click here to read the letter.
HBA REQUESTS CLARIFICATION ON RECENT HEMP REGULATORY UPDATES IN TEXAS
HBA recently submitted questions to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in regards to recent regulatory updates. Click here to read the letter.
HBA REQUESTS CLARIFICATION OF NEW JERSEY POTENCY LIMITS
The Hemp Beverage Alliance sent a letter to New Jersey’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control requesting clarification on potency limits for intoxicating hemp beverages. Click here to read the letter.
HBA IN THE NEWS
The Hemp Beverage Alliance was featured in a variety of stories recently. Click on the links below to read and share.
WISCONSIN GOVERNOR URGES CONGRESS TO REGULATE HEMP
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers today released a letter to the state’s congressional delegation urging them to advocate for a federal regulatory framework for hemp. From the letter:
I write today to urge your immediate attention and action regarding the new federal hemp definition scheduled to take effect in November 2026. Without legislative modification, this change will have significant implications for Wisconsin hemp farmers, processors, retailers, and our broader economy.
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Hemp-derived products currently support a growing sector of legitimate businesses across Wisconsin, employing nearly 3,500 employees and contributing meaningfully to local economies with over $700 million in economic production
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I strongly believe federal legislation is needed to prevent the negative impacts of the new federal hemp definition. I respectfully request that you work with your congressional colleagues to pursue a legislative solution that maintains a workable, science-based hemp definition that prevents unnecessary economic harm. At the very least, I urge you to support federal legislation to delay the effective date of the new federal hemp definition by an additional two years, such as S. 3686, the Hemp Planting Predictability Act.
TOTAL WINE & MORE CEO: THE FUTURE HEMP BEVERAGE INDUSTRY COULD BE WORTH $30 BILLION.
David Trone of Total Wine & More had a lot to say about hemp beverages at WSWA’s AccessLive expo in Las Vegas. A couple of highlights:
“The number one thing that a hemp [beverage] customer buys also is Pinot Grigio.
“They’re [also] buying Bud Light, bourbon, tequila, they’re buying a little bit of everything.”
“[The customer] skews a bit female because of low calories and low carbs and want to try something different.
“It’s everybody across the gamut. It’s not the young customers, it’s all demographics way up to seniors.”
“Veterans are are all in. But we also see soccer moms.”
Trone estimated the hemp beverage category as $1.1 billion.
“It’s nascent, it’s the very, very beginning. It’s like when prohibition was just behind us and we’re all just getting started.”
“I think this category [can become'] between $20 and $30 billion.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE APPLAUDS REP. GRIFFITH’S BILL TO REGULATE THE HEMP INDUSTRY
(DENVER) – The Hemp Beverage Alliance, the trade association for the hemp beverage industry with more than 375 members in the U.S. and Canada, today announced its support and appreciation for Representative Morgan Griffith’s (R-VA) introduction of HR 7212, the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization, and Protection (HEMP) Act. The bill is co-sponsored by Representative Marc Veasey (D-TX).
Click here to download a copy of the bill.
“The Hemp Beverage Alliance applauds Representative Griffith and Representative Veasey for this bi-partisan effort to create a safe, transparent and thriving hemp industry,” said Christopher Lackner, founder and president, Hemp Beverage Alliance. “We will continue to work with their offices to improve and gather support for this important legislation.”
According to the press release from Rep. Griffith:
[T]he Hemp Enforcement, Modernization, and Protection (HEMP) Act [...] is intended to create the pathway for federal regulation of cannabidiol (CBD) products. The bill creates a first-of-its-kind federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived (or CBD) products intended for human use within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Currently, hemp-derived businesses operate with no federal guidance, causing states to adopt differing regulations of hemp-derived products. This has created a patchwork of state laws, essentially allowing for a wild west market for these products and raising serious public health concerns.
Congressman Griffith’s HEMP Act is designed to create a future for American hemp products. By creating this pathway, it will bring regulatory certainty and allow for safer products to be sold in the United States.
The Hemp Beverage Alliance supports regulatory principles that set sensible limits for THC content, keep products away from children, provide robust product testing, and create tax revenues for the public benefit. These principles can be found on the trade association’s website: hempbeveragealliance.org/principles-overview.
About the Hemp Beverage Alliance
The mission of the Hemp Beverage Alliance is to create a safe and thriving industry through education, advocacy, best practices and partnership. We achieve this by providing consumers, retailers, and distributors with the information they need to better understand the industry; developing best practices to create consistency in labeling and manufacturing; working with elected officials and regulators to encourage common-sense regulation; and collaborating with cannabis and alcohol industries to create a marketplace that benefits everyone. More at hempbeveragealliance.org.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE IN NEW YORK TIMES
The gray lady hit the nail on the head:
“High January Is the New Dry January - Sales of beverages containing hemp-derived THC are rising as consumers look for the buzz without the booze. But a new federal law could push them off shelves.”
HBA worked with the reporter on this story, which included quotes and photos of HBA member Drinkin’ Buds.
Read the whole story here (paywall).
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE IN NEW YORK TIMES
HBA members were prominently featured in a story about dry January. From the article:
Sales of mocktails, seltzers and teas containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, have surged since their introduction a few years ago. Amid increased consumer demand and legalization of the cannabis-derived drinks, major retailers like Target, Sprouts and Circle K and national liquor stores are putting the beverages on their shelves.
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Last year, sales of THC beverages were roughly $850 million, according to the data firm Future Markets Insight, and are expected to reach around $4 billion by 2028.
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But despite rising popularity, the drinks are at risk of disappearing.