Imagine sitting at Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire and sipping from a sudsy mug of craft beer that won’t get you drunk, but will make you smile.
Michigan’s marijuana industry envisions a world where nonalcoholic beers are actually intoxicating -- and tasty. That’s because they’d contain THC, the high-inducing compound found in cannabis.
In this new world, booze, juices seltzers, soda and cannabis would collide at bars, party stores, restaurants, concerts or ball games. And that reality may not be too far off.
While the infused drinks remain illegal under Michigan marijuana regulations -- and the state Legislature in 2018 banned all alcohol and marijuana concoctions -- state licensers indicate they’re looking at making a change.
“At the agency leve,l we are collecting ideas all the time,” Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo told MLive during an Oct. 14 “Marketing is Everything" podcast. "And beverages in particular are of interest to a lot of processors in the industry. They want to move forward in that direction so we’re looking at that.”
Other states with legal medical and recreational marijuana, including Colorado, California and Oregon, have already delved into marijuana drinks. Michigan companies are awaiting their chance to introduce them to local customers' gullets.
Image courtesy of Green Peak and Short's Brewing Company.
“We have a partnership with Short’s Brewing and we have already been in the works with them on making some base beverages,” said Joe Neller, the vice president and chief government officer of Skymint Brands. “We haven’t infused any of them yet, but they’ve made a whole host of different types of beverages, from lemonade to iced teas, sparkling waters and iced coffees.
“There are all sorts of things that our team has been taste-testing and trying to decide, when regulations allow, which ones we’d like to infuse with THC.”
Skymint is a chain of marijuana retail stores owned by Green Peak, a vertically integrated huge player in Michigan’s nearly year-old recreational marijuana market.
Neller doesn’t think it’s a matter of if, but when the market opens in Michigan.
“Because it’s happened in every other state where recreational adult-use marijuana is legal,” Neller said.
Neller said state regulators seemed most concerned with safety and consistency of infused beverages.
“The (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) is working to developing an approach for safe infused beverages to be permitted in the Michigan market,” agency spokesman David Harns said. “The rules require shelf stability and we have been working with the industry and the scientific advisory workgroup on a method by which validating shelf stability for infused liquids may be done.”
Neller said potency and the consistency of dosage, to ensure that once sip has as much THC as the next, is another concern.
“These beverages would obviously be infused with THC oil of some kind, for the most part, and water and oil don’t always mix,” but “there are all sorts of technologies that ensure it remains water soluble," according to Neller.
He’s consumed potent THC beverages out West that quickly induce intoxication, but foresees more subtle, “low-dose” drinks emerging through the Short’s partnership.
“I think if people are going to drink the beverages, they’re going to do it in one sitting,” Neller said. “It’s going to be no different than taking a single gummy piece or something... We don’t think people want to drink a beverage and then be non-functioning."
Under state law, businesses may obtain consumption licenses that allow on-premises purchase and consumption of marijuana products, like a cigar lounge. Currently, no such businesses exist in Michigan. When they do, they may also sell food in compliance with food licensing laws, Harns said, but not alcohol.
“Part of the reason we’re so excited about the beverage category is we envision consumption lounges, or even in the future being able to go to a bar or restaurant and being able to have a THC-infused beverage while your friends drink a beer or cocktail,” Neller said.
The Short’s Brewing-Skymint partnership has already resulted in several flavors of THC-infused gummy candies that mimic the taste of some the brewery’s most popular beers, including Soft Parade and Huma Lupa Licious. They’re marketed as “Short’s Brewing by Jolly” edibles.
MLive is hosting a virtual cannabis industry forum on Oct. 27 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. with the goal of providing insight to marijuana business owners, and an avenue for networking.
The $15-per-admission event will include Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo and industry insiders discussing the current and future outlook for the booming industry.
More details are available here.
Read more MLive coverage on cannabis:
Michigan stands to gain more than $1B as recreational marijuana shops open
Medical marijuana blazed a trail for cannabis in Michigan. Now, recreational takes the lead.
Michigan marijuana industry changed, but thriving amid coronavirus pandemic
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