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

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.

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“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.

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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)