Last week’s federal ban on hemp-THC products, scheduled to take effect in a year, has clouded what had been seen as a bright spot in convenience retailing.
“When the Informa team and Technomic team reached out to me about this session, I thought, Oh, goody. I get to end this cool event on a high note, getting everybody amped up about this exciting opportunity that represents the future,” said Melissa Vonder Haar, chairperson of CSP’s C-Store Cannabis Board, during a talk at last week’s Future of Beverage event in Austin, Texas. “And Mitch McConnell had other plans for me.”
As Vonder Haar explained to the audience of convenience retailers, restaurant operators, suppliers and others interested in beverage innovation, a provision slipped into the federal spending bill at the 11th hour bans virtually all consumable hemp-THC products. It supersedes all state regulations and seeks to close what many viewed as a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the sale of products containing 0.3% or less hemp-derived THC by weight.
If the law is not changed before the ban goes into effect in November 2026, it will become illegal to sell hemp-THC beverages, edibles and more, effectively shutting down what has become an estimated $28.3 billion industry.
Retailers including c-store giant Circle K and big box store Target have recently begun selling hemp-THC drinks in states where it’s currently legal.
“If there’s anything you walk away from today, it’s that we have 364 days to change this regulation,” Vonder Haar said. “It’s not a coincidence that this went into the most must-pass bill that we’ve maybe ever seen. To vote against the hemp laws would have been voting to extend the government shutdown. This is not popular legislation. It went in there because it was the only way this was going to pass.”
At Future of Beverage, Vonder Haar explained the importance of consumer education around hemp-THC products. This is a new segment for many consumers, and they will require much more education around these products and what they do than they would with, say, alcohol. That’s why it’s so important to offer low-dose THC beverages as consumers begin to learn their tolerance, she said.
“What I really want to focus on is that microdose,” Vonder Haar said. “That 2 to 3 milligrams … So I really encourage anybody that’s launching a THC beverage program, don’t sleep on that microdose, especially for bars and restaurants.”
Future of Beverage, which took place Nov. 12-14 in Austin, was presented by CSP Daily News parent company Informa Connect.
The Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, an advocacy group, will host an informational webinar Thursday at 1 p.m. Central Time, with a focus on strategy updates for those interested in the hemp-THC segment. Click here for registration information.
CSP will host its inaugural Cannabis Forum March 23-26, 2026, in the Chicago area. For more information, contact Michael Marino, senior director of retail relations, at Michael.Marino@informa.com.
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