Local breweries brace for potential national THC product ban
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - THC product producers worry about Senator Mitch McConnell’s THC product ban he listed in the measure that ended the government shutdown last year.
Getting a THC beverage at one of several New Orleans watering holes has been a more common sight over the years thanks to Josh Katzenstein, the Chief Revenue Officer for Crescent Canna, one of the largest THC drink producers in the country.
He said the company’s growth is due to more and more people ditching alcohol for alternative drinks.
“Maybe they can’t drink alcohol, but they want to feel something — some type of escape,” he said.
After three years of growth, Katzenstein has seen his company’s THC-drinks along parade routes, parties and events in the New Orleans area, but that could all come to a screeching halt this coming fall.
Last year, McConnell argued that a THC product ban is needed since more and more children are getting ahold of the products. The industry has until Nov. 12 until the ban goes into effect.
“Companies like ours are trying to fight against this potential ban,” he said.
Having the drinks become illegal concerns local breweries like Urban South Brewery. Founder/CEO Jacob Landry said the ban would come at a time when craft beer sales are stagnant but his THC drink sales are seeing a massive boom.
“It’s grown to be 20% of our distribution revenue so it will have pretty big implications for us if it goes away,” he said.
Landry said in anticipation of the ban, he is leaving some open positions vacant — with the brewery expected to see a decline in overall sales.
It’s something that worries Christopher Lackner, who is in charge of the Hemp Beverage Alliance.
“This is like shutting off the internet right when it got started and the possibilities were being realized,” he said.
Lackner represents 300 companies across the country — including several THC beverage companies in Louisiana.
His group advocates for lawmakers to introduce a temporary pause in the THC product ban, while industry leaders and lawmakers hash out national regulations to keep the $30 billion industry alive.
“There are several pieces of legislation, and there will be more introduced soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, local brewers like Landry argue federal lawmakers to look toward Louisiana as an example of strict buying and selling laws for THC-products.
“I think we have a really great blueprint, and if the federal government copied our blueprint, I think we will be in a good situation,” he said.
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