The most interesting cannabis lobbying story of the week is that the alcohol industry hemp THC drinks position flipped from threat to opportunity. On August 10, 2026, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America endorsed H.R. 10079 — the bill that would keep hemp-derived THC beverages federally legal by regulating them like booze. They were joined by the Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition, whose members include Total Wine & More, BevMo! by Gopuff, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits and Spec’s. The liquor distribution tier is lobbying to preserve a competing intoxicant.

In this article

• Why the alcohol industry wants hemp THC drinks legal
• The numbers behind the endorsement
• Retail signed on too
• The contradiction worth sitting with
• Watch the full episode
• Original sources

Why the alcohol industry wants hemp THC drinks legal

Follow the structure, not the sentiment. H.R. 10079 would put hemp beverages into a federal three-tier system — producer, wholesaler, retailer, each federally permitted — administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. That is precisely the architecture wholesalers already own. A banned product generates no distribution margin. A product routed through the three-tier system generates margin on every case, forever.

WSWA represents more than 370 member companies distributing over 80% of all wine and spirits sold at wholesale in the United States. Dawson Hobbs, its Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, framed it as consumer protection: “Appropriately dosed hemp-derived beverages belong in a regulated adult beverage marketplace, not in a legal gray area. We thank Congresswoman Van Duyne and Congressman Landsman for their leadership advancing a framework that treats these products differently from other hemp products and builds on the alcohol regulatory system’s long record of consumer protection.”

He also marked the shift in the debate itself: “The conversation has evolved beyond whether hemp-derived beverages should be regulated to how they should be regulated. This legislation moves that conversation forward by following the long record of success in regulating alcohol through a federal and state partnership.”

The numbers behind the endorsement

WSWA cites NIQ data showing THC beverage sales reached $239 million in mainstream retail channels over the 52 weeks ending April 4, 2026 — up 135% year over year. The organization puts the broader intoxicating hemp sector at $28.4 billion with roughly $1.5 billion in potential state tax revenue, though those two figures are WSWA’s own framing rather than independently sourced numbers, so treat them accordingly.

A category growing 135% annually is not a nuisance to the beverage business. It is a growth line item, and the question for a distributor is whether it arrives inside their system or outside it.

Retail signed on too

Jonathan Grella, spokesman for the Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition, put the coalition’s support in terms of separating good actors from bad: “We applaud Representatives Van Duyne and Landsman for putting forward a regulatory framework for low-dose hemp beverages that aligns interests and addresses consumer demand. Their bill provides a path to a safe, regulated marketplace for low-dose hemp beverages while supporting Congress and the Administration in removing synthetic and inhalable products.”

Note the trade being offered: keep the low-dose drinks, dump the synthetics and the vapes. That is a coalition strategy — protect the beverage category by volunteering everything else. Eleven trade groups and companies are now on the bill’s support list, including the Texas Package Stores Association, the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, the Hemp Beverage Alliance and American Beverage Licensees.

WSWA also disclosed that it joined beverage retail partners in a letter to congressional leadership urging senators to preserve the hemp language in the Continuing Resolution — the provision that would push the ban date from November 12 to December 11.

The contradiction worth sitting with

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico recently called his state’s THC ban an “insane” form of corruption benefiting Big Beer and Big Tobacco — an argument we covered when he made it. At the federal level the actual alcohol distribution industry is doing the opposite: lobbying to keep hemp THC legal.

Both things can be true. State-level alcohol interests have sometimes pushed prohibition to protect shelf space. National wholesalers, looking at a 135% growth curve, would rather own the category than kill it. The lesson for operators is that “the alcohol lobby” is not one actor with one position, and predicting its behavior from ideology instead of margin will get you the wrong answer.

An endorsement is not a vote, though. H.R. 10079 remains in committee with one cosponsor.

Watch the full episode

Prefer to watch on YouTube? The Future of Dispensaries in Schedule III.

Original sources

• WSWA — Bipartisan Bill Would Regulate Hemp-Derived THC Beverages Like Alcohol, WSWA Endorses Legislation
• BAMCO — Applauds Bipartisan Bill To Establish Federal Framework For Low-Dose Hemp Beverages
• Marijuana Moment — Alcohol Retailers And Wholesalers Support Bill To Keep Hemp THC Drinks Federally Legal

This article is general information, not legal advice.