A moment of truth is arriving for hemp-derived THC drinks. Sales of THC drinks have been gaining retail steam for several years in the 20-plus states where they’re legal, but new federal restrictions adopted last year are slated to essentially ban them on December 11. A bipartisan bill—the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act—introduced last month seeks to keep 5-mg. hemp-derived THC drinks legal and regulate them like beverage alcohol. “Sales remain strong with an even more established THC department within the store,” says Melissa Surdyk, CEO, Surdyk’s Liquor & Cheese Shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, noting that the store carries about 230 SKUs of THC drinks, compared to about 215 last year,

The federal ban scheduled to begin in December would restrict THC content to 0.4-mg. “At 0.4 milligrams per container, there is no category,” says Jon Halper, owner and CEO of Top Ten Liquors, a 16-unit beverage alcohol retailer in Minnesota. “That is not regulation of the market. It is the end of it. Effectively every product on our shelf — and nearly every product in the country — is above that line.”

The 2018 Farm Bill established a distinction between hemp (0.3% or less THC by dry weight) and marijuana (more than 0.3% THC) and removed hemp from the list of controlled substances. Public Law 119-37—adopted by Congress on November 12, 2025—would limit THC content to 0.4-mg per container. The law was originally supposed to go into effect this November 12 but was extended to December 11 as part of a larger a larger measure to extend funding for federal agencies. “The delay to December 11 did not come as hemp legislation. It came inside a continuing resolution, and December 11 is also when government funding runs out,” Halper says. “The deadline for this category is now pinned to the next shutdown fight. That is not a policy decision about hemp. It is a scheduling accident, and it tells you how this got made—a consequential change to a multi-billion-dollar industry riding inside an appropriations bill rather than being debated on its own.”

Minnesota liquor stores have been selling THC beverages and other THC products such as gummies since they became legal on June 1st, 2023. Sales remain brisk. At Top Ten’s 16 stores THC beverages are up about 12% year-to-date through August versus the same period last year. “The whole THC department, including edibles, is up nearly 20% and runs about 15% of total company sales,” Halper says. “It’s our fourth-largest department, behind beer, spirits and wine and ahead of everything else combined. One in four of our customers bought a THC product in the past year.”

Hemp-derived THC drinks and who can sell them face regulations on a state-by-state basis. Halper notes Minnesota built one of the first regulatory frameworks in the country for THC products four years ago. “Products are tested. Labels are standardized. A 10-mg. beverage is the maximum dosage per can, so the customer knows exactly what a serving is,” he says. “Sales are 21-and-over. The questions Congress is debating now — serving size, labeling, testing and age verification — are questions Minnesota answered in 2022-2023. We would be shutting down a working, regulated market and pushing it somewhere nobody is watching. We do not intend to stop selling in our state if this is not federally legal. We have worked out a structure to make that work.”

At Surdyk’s, THC products are promoted with digital and instore ads, tastings, signage, and retail displays. The top selling products are Surdyk’s-branded Happy Gummies Strawberry 10-mg. THC two servings per gummy five pack ($20), Trail Magic Half & Half 10mg THC ($17 a 4-pack of 12-ounce cans), and Indeed Pink Burst 10-mg. THC 10mg CBD ($19). “Minnesota is a strong market,” Surdyk says. “It is evident that THC is established in many consumers lifestyles. Education and knowledge in the category have improved. We still see newcomers to the category. One day, or particular hour of a gathering, a guest may feel like having a THC, an NA cocktail, a can of beer, and or a glass of wine or spirits.”

Top Ten, meanwhile, has sold about 650 distinct THC beverage items so far this year versus about 450 in the same period last year. “About 500 are actively on the shelf today,” Halper says. “Across the whole THC department, it is about 750 items this year versus 500 last year. Seventy-five items produce half of our THC sales, while over 350 are sitting on 15 weeks of supply or more. We’re carrying more brands than the shelf can profitably support, and we are already cutting the tail.”

Top selling THC drinks at Top Ten are Gigli 10-mg. THC Variety Pack ($33 a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans), Looner 10-mg. THC Sodas Variety Pack, ($41 ), and Uncle Arnie’s Zero Sugar Variety Pack 10mg THC, ($35). “All three are 12-pack variety packs,” Halper says. “A year ago, our leaders were 4-packs. Twelve-packs are up 150% year-over-year, while 4-packs are down 12.5%. The category has moved from trial to stock-up—the clearest evidence I have that this is becoming a habitual purchase, not a novelty.”