New Congressional Scrutiny Threatens Burgeoning Consumer-Driven Category...

BD attended the second annual Hemp Beverage Expo hosted last week in Atlanta by the Hemp Beverage Alliance. The event was dedicated to beverages such as “seltzers, sodas, mocktails, coffees, teas and other drinks that contain an infusion of hemp-derived cannabinoids.” The cannabinoid at the center of

When Philadelphia-based attorney Seth Goldberg started representing businesses and individuals looking to expand into cannabis 10 years ago, a lot of his work focused on state-licensed cultivators, product manufacturers, and dispensaries in regulated state markets. In recent years, the market has evolved to an emphasis on cannabis as a functional ingredient in food and beverage products. Goldberg’s clients now include a food company looking to expand into THC edibles and a beverage company looking to add a line of THC drinks. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana. His practice is constantly evolving with shifts in state and federal law and enforcement — or the lack thereof. Without clarity and consistency in the regulation of cannabis-infused food and beverages nationally, entrepreneurs with an appetite for risk have forged a patchwork market for unregulated THC drinks containing psychoactive ingredients such as delta-8 and delta-9. Often, these companies exploit loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed cannabis with low concentrations of THC from the Controlled Substances Act and called it hemp. Delta-8 and delta-9 THC drinks are popping up outside of regulated dispensaries in states like Minnesota and Texas. You might even find such products at the local convenience store in your state. “There’s been a real evolution in terms of how cannabis consumer packaged goods are being marketed in 2025 relative to when I got into this is 2015,” Goldberg, a business litigation partner at law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, said in an interview with Beverage Digest. He is co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis & Hemp Law practice. The flood of new THC beverages across the US is now catching the attention of state legislators and regulators. Just this month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation that limits the amount of THC in drinks that aren’t sold by state licensed cannabis distributors. A bill in Tennessee prohibits the sale of hemp-derived THC drinks at convenience stores and groceries. A number of other states including Florida and Georgia have attempted legislation governing this new crop of THC beverages. Hemp-based THC drinks haven’t captured the attention of the Trump administration, however. BD’s Duane Stanford spoke to Goldberg to better understand this exploding THC beverage market...