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February 4, 2025
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For 10 years Cannabiz Media has been tracking all the regulated cannabis businesses. We began with cannabis licenses and then added hemp as that segment began to grow. We’ve supplemented these with unlicensed businesses and most recently, smoke and vape shops where a lot of product is being sold.
Fast forward to 2025 and states are now licensing businesses that sell THC beverages and Cannabiz Media is including those licenses on our platform. As we saw with early cannabis programs, each state is creating their own adventure. As THC beverage sales grow, consumers, regulators and MSO’s have taken notice. Below are our observations on what is happening in a few states that are issuing licenses or accepting registrations.
As with cannabis, each state is taking their own approach. On one end of the continuum is California which has implemented an outright ban on hemp products containing any THC. In the middle we have states like Missouri, Connecticut and Georgia that opted for more comprehensive regulation. And in Minnesota we find a very expansive program that allows THC beverages to be sold alongside alcohol in a variety of venues. And of course there are many companies engaged in online sales which will continue to impact these state licensed businesses.
One very interesting non-regulator datapoint revolves around staffing. Green Thumb Industries just posted a VP of Beverage Marketing Role with a salary range of $200-230K. In addition to that they have more than a dozen other beverage related posting including Brand Territory Managers to focus on states like Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. The focus on these states is certainly intentional as the regulatory frameworks will help support their beverage growth aspirations. Other MSO’s are not signaling these same types of hires.
Here's the round-up of several noteworthy states on a continuum from draconian to light regulation.
The regulations, which were published by the California Department of Public Health on September 24, 2024 prohibit the marketing, offering for sale, or sale of industrial hemp products intended for human use (including food, beverages, and dietary supplements) that contain a detectable level of total THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids.
This approach has caused a lot of heartburn for the industry. Looking at the top states that ship or plan to ship into Minnesota, California is at the top. I’m sure lobbying is underway to loosen up some of these restrictions.
Missouri tried to ban these products but according to Green Market Report, lawmakers are considering letting hemp-derived THC beverages stay in liquor stores while moving edibles and vapes to dispensaries. According to local press, Every time Missouri lawmakers have proposed legislation to essentially ban intoxicating-hemp products in the last few years, the hemp industry has mounted a united opposition to stop them.
Products like Delta-8 THC drinks can currently be bought everywhere from bars to coffee shops statewide.
Regulating after the fact is always challenging as consumers don’t like their choices to be diminished.
The Nutmeg State has about 1,300 “package stores” (retail liquor establishments) and after some lobbying and wrangling, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection came up with a set of rules to allow them to sell low THC beverages. So far 423 are credentialed to engage in this activity. This is the only other channel, besides dispensaries, where you can buy THC beverages in Connecticut.
If the beverages are manufactured in Connecticut, they can be delivered in-state without a special license. Those wishing to ship from other states have to rely on the existing alcohol infrastructure. From the map below from the Cannabiz Media Business Intelligence platform, we can see that there is adequate coverage for most of the 169 towns in the state.
As of January 31st, 2025, Georgia has issued 3,652 retail licenses with another 1,875 that are either awaiting payment or in revision. These licensed retailers can sell consumable hemp products that comply with OCGA 2-23-1 et seq. and GA. Comp. R. & Regs 40-32 and beverages that are otherwise compliant are not prohibited. The comprehensive approach in the state will likely contribute to a robust market – and that may be confirmed by Green Thumb’s focus there.
In Minnesota, legislators passed Statute 151.72 in 2022 which allows for the sale of hemp-derived edible cannabinoid products. This legislation paved the way for the sale of hemp derived THC beverages in all sorts of retail outlets. Over 4,499 businesses have registered for this program, including out of state companies that are or will ship into the state. Here are the firms that signed up for more than 10 locations:
And here are the states with the most companies shipping into Minnesota:
Minnesota’s approach is unique and will be watched by both regulators and other industry participants because of its embrace of THC beverages and wide ability to sell them.
Cannabiz Media will continue to track the rollout of these programs, licenses and data as state regulators strive to manage the opportunity and havoc this will create. Tune back into Cannacurio as we cover this throughout 2025 and I also recommend reading A Review of the Present THC Beverage Market by Tyler Klimas as well as the thought leaderships in this space by the Delta Emerald Group.
Ed Keating is a co-founder of Cannabiz Media and oversees the company’s data research and government relations efforts. He has spent his career working with and advising information companies in the compliance space. Ed has managed product, marketing, and sales while overseeing complex multi-jurisdictional product lines in the securities, corporate, UCC, safety, environmental, and human resource markets.
At Cannabiz Media, Ed enjoys the challenge of working with regulators across the globe as he and his team gather corporate, financial, and license information to track the people, products, and businesses in the cannabis economy.
Ed graduated from Hamilton College and received his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.
Cannabiz Media customers can stay up-to-date on these and other new licenses through our newsletters, alerts, and reports modules. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive these weekly reports delivered to your inbox. Or you can schedule a demo for more information on how to access the Cannabis Market Intelligence Platform yourself to dive further into this data.
Cannacurio is a weekly column from Cannabiz Media featuring insights from the most comprehensive cannabis market intelligence platform. Catch up on Cannacurio posts and podcasts for the latest updates and intel.
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