Herb. Chronic. Mary Jane. Grass. The culprit behind the notorious 1936 film, Reefer Madness, and rocket fuel for the prison industrial complex. Those three little seemingly nefarious letters we discuss in whispers and head nods that conjure up visions of alleyway deals and an insatiable appetite—THC. It’s the juice that kept Cheech and Chong going, and the inspiration behind movies like Pineapple Express and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. What once was reserved for rebellious teens and the hippie counterculture has since ballooned into a booming $30 billion industry that’s becoming less taboo and more mainstream due to an ease in government regulations in states across the country.
Functional THC-Infused Beverages Are Having a Moment
Although the actual plant itself is still overcoming its prescribed branding as “the Devil’s lettuce,” a rise in edible products, particularly beverages that contain the abundant psychoactive compounds or terpenes found in the divisive verdure, has become more commonplace as consumers make a concerted shift away from alcohol in favor of better, more natural alternatives. Brands like Nowadays, Artet, Goodmellow, and Pamos have ditched the expected grungy, underground image of THC-infused products in favor of a sleeker appearance that would look just as good on your bar cart as a bottle of SirDavis.
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Instead of being the butt of the joke, more and more brands are opting to transcend it by positioning themselves as more than just the tropes we’ve come to associate them with. They’ve fully embraced the term functional beverages to underscore the point that this isn’t your grandma’s wacky tobacky. The only catch, though, is that for the most part, if you’re intrigued and want to purchase these brands, you’ll have to travel to one of the few specialty stores that carry them or order them online. A minor inconvenience, sure, but depending on where you live, trying to score the goods can end up being way more trouble than it’s worth.
Target Announces THC-Infused Beverage Sales in Limited 10 Store Test
Luckily, it appears that the tides are starting to turn, and in the near future, you might be able to just pop over to Target instead of calling your shady Uncle. In an unprecedented and unexpected move, the beloved cheap-chic retailer announced that it would begin selling a variety of THC-infused beverages at 10 locations in Minnesota in a test to see how viable the category is and whether or not to roll the program out to other states where hemp-derived THC is legal. The limited rollout will feature a dozen brands, including Cann, Wynk, Stigma, Wonder, Señorita, Wyld, Trail Magic, Birdie, Surly, Gigli, Hi Seltzer, and Indeed.
The move marks a watershed moment for the cannabis industry, with Target becoming the first major big-box retailer to stock THC-infused beverages. Although it’s an undeniably big moment for an industry that has long been demonized, at the state level, lawmakers continue to place their own bans or restrictions on hemp-derived THC, so there are still bound to be significant hurdles to entry. Not to mention the fact that by and large, the increasingly popular industry leaves Black Americans out of the conversation in regard to the negative impacts the stigma of cannabis use continues to have on our communities, with no real plans for retribution or a gateway to entry.
Nonetheless, it’s still a very big deal. It isn’t clear how long the pilot program will last, and only time will tell whether Target’s decision to give THC-infused beverage sales a trial run will signal other brands in the sector to do the same. Either way, we’ll be keeping our spirits high and our eyes peeled as this story develops.
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