Cannabis drinks are surging in popularity
On a special episode (first released on March 5, 2025) of The Excerpt podcast:
A new beverage has been showing up in bars and on store shelves: the cannabis cocktail, a hemp-derived drink that contains CBD and oftentimes THC as well. They're marketed as providing a buzz without the downside of a hangover. But are there drawbacks? And could these drinks ever replace alcohol? Staci Gruber, director of marijuana investigations for the Neuroscientific Discovery program at McLean Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School joins The Excerpt to answer these and other questions about this new trend.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Dana Taylor: Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and this is a special episode of The Excerpt.
A new beverage has been showing up in bars and on store shelves, the cannabis drink, a hemp-derived drink that contains CBD and oftentimes THC as well. They're marketed as providing a buzz without the downside of a hangover, but are there drawbacks? And could these drinks ever replace alcohol? We're now joined by Staci Gruber, director of the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery Program and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School to answer these and other questions about this new trend. Thanks for joining me, Staci.
Staci Gruber: Thanks so much for having me.
First, before we compare CBD and THC, how do hemp-derived cannabis drinks affect people and what are some of the adverse effects?
People are generally looking for something to "take the edge off" or to be sort of more relaxed in social settings and these products are incredibly popular, as you know. Hemp derived products versus cannabis derived products aren't all that different other than the sort of plants that create the products themselves and their legal status. That's really the big difference. Each of these products can contain variable amounts of THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, the main intoxicating constituent from the plant, or CBD, cannabidiol, a primary, but not the only non-intoxicating constituent. Some people, unbeknownst to them, are very sensitive to THC and a little bit can have an unfortunate impact. Some people aren't necessarily mindful of how much is contained in a specific product, and they might have the whole thing, not realizing that they're ingesting an awful lot of THC because it does take some time to get an effect. So there are things to be mindful of when using these products for sure.
Can you explain the differences, other differences between CBD and THC? Do both of these compounds produce a high?
It's a great question. I often think of these compounds. The plant is remarkably complex and has hundreds of compounds. THC and CBD are but two of them. THC is the primary intoxicating constituent of the plant, and it's what our recreational folks are generally looking for in products when they're looking to get high or feel altered or again, just sort of change their current state of being. And that's great. No judgment here. It's terrific. Cannabidiol or CBD is not intoxicating. That is, it does not produce a high. Very often it's touted for its potential therapeutic benefits. And so these things are both from the plant, but both have very, very different effects. And that's important to keep in mind, again, when you're considering what's in your weed or what's in the product you're about to use.
I want to circle back to this and the newness of it. Both CBD and THC have already made their way into edibles. Why do you think this trend with cannabis beverages is now catching on, and do you have a sense of how widespread it is?
So I think that cannabis beverages are becoming increasingly popular because from a social perspective, people are looking to enjoy themselves and to relax, and very often people are looking for alternatives to alcohol. So it becomes a very facilitative behavior socially. Cannabis can be used in a number of different ways. The most common ways are generally inhalation, so vaping or smoking, or consumed, edibles. Beverages are not quite the same as eating a product, for example, a cookie or a brownie, because in those cases you have to digest the product, it's processed by your GI tract, and then it goes to the liver where actually THC is converted to something more intoxicating.
For the beverages, you actually get a rise time or effect in less than the time it would take for regular consumed product. So some people say they feel it in about 15 or 20 minutes. So there are some differences here, and of course there's lots of different ways that people use cannabis, but I think we're seeing a real increase in patterns of use across the country because people are looking for alternatives to alcohol and because they're looking for other ways to use cannabis.
Where is it legal now? I understand the fact that it's derived from hemp, and that's an important factor here.
Hemp is a variety of cannabis with inherently low levels of THC, again, that primary intoxicating compound from the plant. In this country, the legal limit is 0.3% THC by weight or less. That is what defines hemp. So those products are basically ostensibly legal in all states. You can buy things on the internet and have them shipped. Some products that are in the marketplace are in fact cannabis drives. So you have to be mindful of that, but that's an important distinction. So I think when people avail themselves with these products via online resources like vendors online, they can be shipped pretty much anywhere.
How do cannabis drinks compare to how alcohol affects the body and what's the impact for long-term users?
So it's a great question. It's a complicated question. We are not all created equally. It's a common misconception, and alcohol is a single molecule. Cannabis, as I mentioned, is a really complex plant, and there are over 400 compounds in the plant, and you may know how you respond to a standard drink, a gin and tonic let's say. But very often people are not aware of how they will respond to a cannabis infused drink or a hemp infused drink with THC. So it's important for people to remember that there is not one standard set of responses across the board. Some people do very well and find it very enjoyable to have two and a half milligrams or five milligrams of THC. Some people find that amount too high, so to speak, and it's a decidedly unpleasant experience. Some people have 10, 20. It really depends.
So it's important for people to start low and go slow and to figure out their own tolerance, and not all beverages will be the same. That's the other thing. So that's important. Long term effects, we don't really have much in the way of long-term data. We have data from recreational cannabis users who are primarily, again, historically using products that are either vaped or smoked. We don't have pure beverage or pure edible studies necessarily that are long-term to date. We certainly should.
Do these drinks impact judgment the way alcohol does? What are your recommendations to people who are trying cannabis drinks for the first time?
I'm going to start with the second part first. My recommendations to people who are trying cannabis drinks for the first time is, again, start low and go slow. You can always add, you can never take away. So once you're beginning your experience and you're starting to sip these things, give it time. These things take some time to give you an effect, and that's a common misconception. People say, "Oh, I don't feel anything. I'm going to keep drinking." Before you know it, they've had a whole lot more. And you go from having a pleasant experience at a party to a decidedly unpleasant experience. So that's important.
Does it impair judgment? So THC, acute effects of THC can certainly impair individuals' ability to make good sound decisions and judgment. We are not all the same. Some people do just fine with a little on board or even more than a little on board. Some people do far less well. So it's important to keep that in mind as well. And plan. I always tell people, again, know before you go, what's your intention? Make sure you have plenty of time to allow these products to give you the effect that you're looking for before going any further. And allow yourself time to recover before you need to do something that requires you to be all in.
Do you see regulations on the horizon? Where does that stand?
So cannabis, again, is associated with a fair number of regulations with regard to state-based guidelines and regulations. At the federal level, cannabis remains a schedule one substance, and so I think there are a lot of questions and concerns about how that will change and evolve over time, of course. The hemp based products and beverages are less tightly regulated because the farm bill again gives them a different sort of set of guidelines and parameters to be followed. I think that people are mindful of some of the "loopholes" in the farm bill where non intoxicating hemp, so hemp, again, defined as anything with equal to or less than 0.3% THC is not necessarily intended or expected to alter people and to get them high.
Remember I said 0.3% by weight. So imagine if you have a product that's very different in weight from a tiny little gummy or a sublingual oil, the amount of THC you can legally allow in that product is exponentially greater. So it's a bit of a loophole. So that's a bit of a concern for regulators and for people, and I think a lot of folks are looking at that pretty seriously.
In your opinion, do you think cannabis drinks could ever replace alcohol for some people?
I think a lot of people are very interested in finding alternatives to alcohol, especially given the recent announcement and warning by the Surgeon General with regard to the relationship between alcohol and cancer, people are beginning to lean in a little bit more heavily to other things, including cannabis. So it's very possible that people will use these drinks instead of alcohol or certainly in addition to, that's certainly what we've seen.
And then finally, what do you think people miss or don't understand in general about marijuana?
Oh, goodness. That's a great question and a big question. I think there are a lot of common misconceptions, and I will tell you first and foremost, as it relates to drinks, the minute you swallow something, it becomes "an edible." So again, you have to digest it and then there's a first pass through the liver. So any of the compounds that are converted by the liver into something else, including THC, which is very often what people are using these products for, it's actually turned into something more intoxicating. We used to call it the gift that keeps on giving. So just be mindful of that as you're having your experience. The way you feel now is you're starting to feel the effects of your drink may actually intensify. So before you go having a whole lot more, allow it to reach its peak. All products are not created equally.
It's really important to double check not just what the label says, because very often the label is not reflective of actually what's in the product. I ask for people to check the certificate of analysis or COA. That tells you what's in that particular product, how much of each thing. So that's a great way of knowing what you're getting. Again, that's sort of what's in your weed factor, and we're not all the same. So much depends on what else we have on board, whether we have alcohol on board, if we've had food or not, whether medications are on board. In our current state, all of those things are going to impact your experience as well as your own genetic profile and your own experience with cannabis. So be mindful and give yourself an opportunity to experience it before really throwing yourself into what people have called the deep end of the beverage experience, where you have way too much, way too quickly.
I found this fascinating. Thank you so much for being on The Excerpt, Staci.
Happy to be here. Thanks so much.
Thanks to our senior producers, Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan for their production assistance, our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
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