Very little research has been done on how mixing
the two affects mood and behaviour, with some
studies claiming CBD enhances alcohol’s depressant
properties while other research shows CBD can
protect against alcohol’s negative side-effects.
“Beverages in general are a familiar,
trusted, social format. It’s not an inhalable
format, so that just makes it more inviting
and less intimidating for those who might
be novice in their experience with CBD,”
said Cam MacNeil, director of product
development for Canopy Growth.
That doesn’t mean CBD-infused
beverages are without challenge from a
production and regulatory standpoint.
First off, it’s against the law in
Canada, and in U.S. states where cannabis
is legal, to brew and sell CBD-infused
alcoholic beverages. Very little research
has been done on how mixing the two
affects mood and behaviour, with some
studies claiming CBD enhances alcohol’s
depressant properties while other research
shows CBD can protect against alcohol’s
negative side-effects.
That doesn’t mean licensed cannabis
producers aren’t either partnering with
large beer companies to create their own
non-alcoholic CBD-infused beverages or, in
America, trying sell CBD-infused beverages
to craft breweries and bars as a taproom
alternative. For example, CBeerD is a
Colorado-based company that sells hemp
shots online across North America that can
be mixed into any drink.
“Pre-brewing CBD directly into beer
is a no-go in the U.S., so we saw this as a
back-door way to introduce the concept
of enjoying CBD beverages to anyone
that sells alcohol,” said Joshua Mynatt,
co-founder and sales manager of CBeerD.
“I describe it as when people started adding
fruit to IPAs. We believe CBD is the future
and other breweries believe that too.”
Selling cannabis-infused drinks in bars
and liquor stores is prohibited in Canada,
for now, but MacNeil shares Mynatt’s
belief that alcoholic and cannabis-infused
beverages will one day share space.
F E AT U R E
Photo courtesy of Vertosa
Harold Han, PhD, emulsion chemist, founder and chief scienific officer at Vertosa
30 § POURED CANADA § www.poured.ca
/www.poured.ca
