Cannabis beverages could be the future of social drinking in Michigan

The ultimate goal is to get THC drinks in bars, restaurants, and sporting events

As the demand for alcohol alternatives grows, THC beverages are gaining popularity nationwide, popping up in restaurants, grocery stores, smoke shops, convenience stores, and even on tap at bars. Once confined to regulated cannabis dispensaries, hemp-derived THC drinks are now widely available in states embracing the trend.

But so far, Michigan is not among them. Not yet, anyway.

Green Street Beverages, a Boston-based company behind THC drink brands Hi*AF, HiTide, and Boundary Waters, is hoping to carve out a foothold in the state. While Michigan law prohibits the sale of marijuana-derived THC drinks in public venues like bars and restaurants, the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and its derivatives, provides a legal pathway for hemp-based THC beverages in those businesses. Some call it a loophole.

Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) strictly limits the sale of marijuana-derived THC drinks to licensed dispensaries, meaning consumers can’t legally sip a THC seltzer at a bar or order a cannabis-infused cocktail at a restaurant.

But hemp-derived THC drinks fall into a different category. Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, these beverages are not classified as marijuana products. This allows them to be sold at grocery stores, bars, and gas stations in states that have not explicitly banned hemp-derived THC beverages.

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