What a federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks could mean for the hemp industry

https://apnews.com/article/hemp-thc-drinks-ban-law-8d77842cb250291a178db6f9d39f8b7e


Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, speed down the canning line at Indeed Brewing in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.

But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.

“It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.” Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.

snip

“We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.” The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.

snip


Here are the 25 Democratic caucus Senators (led by Shaheen, who whipped to keep it in) who voted to keep the McTurtle ban in the bill:

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00614.htm#position

Alsobrooks (D-MD)
Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Coons (D-DE)
Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Durbin (D-IL)
Fetterman (D-PA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hassan (D-NH)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Hirono (D-HI)
Kim (D-NJ)
King (I-ME)
Lujan (D-NM)
Murray (D-WA)
Padilla (D-CA)
Reed (D-RI)
Rosen (D-NV)
Schiff (D-CA)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Slotkin (D-MI)
Van Hollen (D-MD)
Warner (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)