Congressional hemp delay leaves THC beverage makers in uncertain limbo

The stakes are rising as consumer demand booms. THC beverages generated $239 million in measured U.S. retail sales in the 52 weeks through April, up 135% from the previous year, according to NielsenIQ, which tracked more than 1,170 products across more than 200 brands. For consumers like Erica Fabian, a business owner and military spouse, these drinks have become a meaningful alternative to alcohol. Her husband, a retired 20-year Navy SEAL veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, relies on them, she said. "It's an actual game-changer," Fabian told CNBC. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

The prospect of a ban has already affected beverage makers and their supply chains. Jake Bullock, CEO of THC beverage maker Cann, which he says is the top-selling THC drink at Target and the No. 2 nonalcoholic beverage at Sprouts, reported record sales to retailers but a sharp pullback from wholesalers wary of being stuck with inventory if Congress bans the product. "Our distributors should be buying more from us, but they're not," he said. Meanwhile, Joe Gerrity, CEO and co-founder of hemp beverage manufacturer Crescent Canna, said his company has already laid off half its employees because of how congressional inaction has affected business this year.

The delay stems from a measure Congress approved in November 2025 as part of a government funding bill, originally giving companies until this November to comply with restrictions on intoxicating hemp products that had been permitted under the 2018 farm bill. Gerrity said, "Nine months after passing a bill that would kill tens of thousands of small businesses, Congress has come together and done something tremendous — given themselves an additional month to solve a problem that they created." But he added, "I want to celebrate, but it shouldn't take an army of lobbyists and tens of millions of dollars for Congress to protect small businesses from Congress."

Distributors are increasingly reluctant to replenish inventory while Congress debates the category's future. Gerrity explained that many distributors now require documentation stipulating manufacturers will take back and reimburse them for any unsold product due to regulatory changes. "This is an unprecedented situation, and nobody wants to get left holding the bag," he said. Bullock said Cann is betting that Congress will reach an agreement on regulation and is building inventory in anticipation of continued demand.

Opponents in Congress argue that safety uncertainties around the relatively new beverages justify a ban. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., a leading House Republican pushing to bar hemp products, said intoxicating hemp products are unregulated and pose risks to children. Other critics have focused on inhalable products, high-potency candies, a lack of THC caps and testing requirements, and items containing synthetic cannabinoids. Bullock, however, said the beverage industry's goal is not to preserve a regulatory vacuum but to create rules similar to those governing alcohol. "We're winning against an abolishing argument," he said, adding that Congress is "not worried" about drinks with lower-milligram dosages of THC. Each extension creates planning difficulties, Bullock said, as businesses question how much product to make for distributors. For now, retailers can keep selling the drinks and consumers can continue buying them, but the next deadline looms in December.