Dank Drinks: Is Ganja You Glug Any Good?

For many people, smoking or vaping cannabis are their primary methods of getting high, followed by scarfing an edible. (Or, if you are me, both at the same time. #dontjudgeme) But there is a growing number turning to hemp-derived, THC-infused beverages. And recent moves within the industry mean you may start seeing these drinks in some mainstream retail stores that you wouldn’t normally associate with weed.

Thanks to the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill (aka Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) hemp and products derived from hemp became legal. The first and arguably best known of these is the hemp-derived cannabinoid CBD.

So long as that CBD contains no more than .3% Delta-9 THC, it’s not a “controlled substance,” and can be sold outside the highly regulated and restrictive dispensary systems where cannabis is sold. While CBD has numerous benefits including pain relief, inflammation reduction and assisting in relaxation and sleep, it isn’t considered an intoxicant.

As I’ve covered here previously, researchers, scientists, and people who like to get high soon began to play around with extracting, concentrating and purifying other cannabinoids which do get you high. While the Delta-9 THC found in cannabis is the most well known and consumed, some of the 100+ cannabinoids found in hemp began showing up in products, primarily in states without regulated Adult Use cannabis programs. Some of the hemp derived intoxicating cannabinoids include Delta-10, Delta-11 THC, HHC, HHC-O, HHC-P, THC-B, -H, -P and -V, THCM, THCA.

Hemp-derived Delta-9 is the primary cannabinoid used in beverages, which are finding both large-scale interest from retailers and consumers, and political resistance with a goal of shutting it all down. The interest in such beverages is coming from a wide range of groups, with some surprising results.

One recent survey of cannabis beverage consumers found that 77% had reduced their alcohol consumption and nearly a quarter of the respondents had entirely eliminated alcohol. That tracks with another recent survey looking at the “after work substance rituals” of 1,000 employed respondents. They report “…24% of Americans have at least partially replaced alcohol with non-alcoholic or cannabis drinks, led by Gen Z and millennials, 1 in 3 of whom now regularly drink THC-based beverages…” and “66% of Americans have tried alternatives to alcohol in the past 6 months, with seltzers and sparkling water (31%), cannabis drinks (27%)…”

This corresponds to other surveys and studies showing that more Americans believe cannabis to be safer than alcohol, as well as a swapping out of cannabis for alcohol.

Big business is taking note, with recent announcements that Target is testing out sales of a dozen hemp-derived THC beverages across 10 stores in Minnesota, as well as the convenience store we’ve all frequented while stoned, Circle K. Last month they announced that after a test launch in Georgia and Florida with an Allen Iverson-branded hemp drink, they plan to carry the beverage nationwide, in up to 3,000 stores.

But that’s based on hemp-derived THC remaining legal and allowable for use in beverages and other products. Which is in question, because some politicians are very concerned about it, and have lobbied to have it banned, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell (why am I not surprised), who wants to “close the hemp loophole” on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids. The current government shutdown has hit pause on the matter, which many expect to be revisited when the Farm Bill of 2026 is crafted.

I’m very familiar, and fond, of mocktails and beverages made using cannabis rosin infused tinctures and syrups, which hit harder and longer than hemp-derived THC. But I was recently gifted a four-pack of Trippy Tiger, a seltzer infused with 5 mg of hemp-derived THC, and 10 mg of CBD, produced by Oregon’s own McMenamins.

I enjoyed its fruit-forward taste, and found its effects to be more of a gentle and subtle unwinding than anything resembling intoxication. With a tolerance higher than most, I drank three in my second go around, and while my stress-hunched shoulders lowered a bit more, I wasn’t high the way a cannabis derived THC beverage has gotten me. Plus, just 45 calories, with no hangover. Bottoms up.

This article appears in the Source November 6, 2025.