The Michigan House is exploring the development of state rules for hemp-infused beverages that would allow the drinks to be sold at liquor shops, bars and grocery stores.
Currently, Michigan residents can buy hemp-containing THC beverages online from out-of-state providers or marijuana-infused THC beverages through a few in-state producers who sell exclusively at licensed marijuana retail stores. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive component found in cannabis that gives users a high.
But a Republican House lawmaker is eyeing legislation that would route the hemp-derived drinks largely through the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, making them available to a wider swath of customers at grocery and liquor stores. The regulatory framework is also likely to generate additional tax revenue for the state after lawmakers decide on a taxation structure for the drinks.
The proposed legislation is still a work in progress, and lawmakers are currently gathering input from stakeholders or interested parties on the first bill drafts, said state Rep. Joe Aragona, R-Clinton Township. But it is a market, he said, that needs to be addressed.
“This is becoming another option that people go to when they want to relax, have a drink or socialize,” Aragona said.
Hemp-infused beverages have grown in popularity since the passage of the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which legalized hemp at the federal level and defined it as any cannabis plant with less than 0.3% THC at dry weight. It was a slight thawing of federal policy on THC, though any plant with more than 0.3% THC still is considered marijuana and illegal under federal law.
While federal and state laws treat hemp and marijuana differently, the practical difference between a marijuana-derived THC drink and a hemp-derived THC beverage with the same milligram count is a distinction without much difference. One starts with a plant with over 0.3% concentration of THC, and the other begins with a plant under 0.3% concentration, but both can be used to produce a drink with a potency of about 10 milligrams of THC per 12 ounces.
The legalization of hemp under the 2018 federal bill opened a path for states across the country — regardless of whether they had legalized marijuana locally — to begin selling hemp-derived products, from gummies to vapes to drinks.
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