As recreational cannabinoids become legal in more U.S. states, a fight is brewing between legislators and alcohol producers over cannabis-infused booze. All the while, the science of cannabis-infused alcohol is still unclear.
2018 is shaping up to be a big year for medical and recreational marijuana, but one grey area remains in a sea of green: cannabis-infused alcohol.
As more states legalize recreational marijuana, the legal and economic relationship between alcohol and marijuana will become a bigger issue. Just this year, one of the world’s largest alcohol producers, Constellation Brands, invested $3.8 billion dollars in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth. Now they’re selling off some of their wine brands as part of a strategic shift to focus on beer and marijuana products.
According to Dr. Bomi Joseph, one of the founders of Peak Health Center, Constellation Brands’ move points to a broader trend in which alcohol consumption is decreasing worldwide. While some may blame a decrease in alcohol consumption on the rise of marijuana’s popularity, Dr. Joseph says “I’m hesitant in saying there’s a direct connection between the two because there is a general trend of reduced alcohol consumption across the population, not just among those people actually using cannabinoids.”
Alcohol companies like Ceria in Colorado are looking to capitalize on recreational marijuana’s popularity by creating THC and CBD-infused beers, but most of the time these products are non-alcoholic. Cannabis wine start-up Saka Wines, is also putting out a cannabis-infused non-alcoholic wine product in California, focused on a female demographic, with female co-founders and board of advisors.
