HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE HELPS EXTEND TESTING AND LICENSING FLEXIBILITY IN MINNESOTA
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management recently issued an updated licensing and testing notice for lower-potency hemp edibles, including hemp beverages, along with revisions to Guidance Memo 2025-03. The update reflects a practical implementation approach that HBA advocated for through written comment and direct, personal engagement with OCM leadership.
The agency recognized that testing infrastructure remains in build-out mode and confirmed that existing hemp businesses can continue operating under Minn. Stat. § 151.72 past January 1, 2026, including continued use of out-of-state testing laboratories. The agency will now wait until March 31, 2026 to issue licenses to hemp manufacturers and wholesalers. OCM also confirmed that compliant products do not need to be pulled from shelves during the transition.
HBA appreciates the Minnesota operators who documented the real-world bottlenecks and stayed constructive in their advocacy. We will continue engaging the Office and policymakers on the remaining statutory issues OCM flagged for legislative consideration.
Click here to read our comments to OCM
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE IN INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATE
INU covered our support for Sen. Wyden and Sen. Merkley’s bill. Read the whole thing here.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE SUPPORTS NEW FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO REGULATE HEMP INDUSTRY
The Hemp Beverage Alliance (HBA) voiced its support for Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act (CSRA) introduced today by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to establish regulations for hemp beverages across the country.
The following statement can be attributed to Christopher Lackner, president, Hemp Beverage Alliance:
“The Hemp Beverage Alliance applauds senators Wyden and Merkley for championing sensible regulations that keep products away from children, provide robust product testing and transparent packaging information, and provide a pathway for the hemp beverage industry to continue to thrive.”
“Since our founding in 2023, the HBA has advocated for testing, proper labeling, sensible THC milligram levels, and age-gating of products. We look forward to working with congressional lawmakers to promote this legislation and ensure a thriving hemp beverage category in 2026 and beyond.”
“Hemp beverages are incredibly popular with adult consumers who are seeking additional beverage choices. This legislation allows them to continue to enjoy these beverages, while creating a safe, transparent and thriving category.”
Read the bill text here. A one-page summary of the bill is here. A section-by-section breakdown of the bill is here.
The Hemp Beverage Alliance supports regulatory principles that set sensible limits for THC content, keep products away from children, provide robust product testing, and create tax revenues for the public benefit.
Get involved in advocacy!
Hemp Beverage Alliance members are strongly encouraged to start building relationships with their representatives in Congress. Please click on the link below to learn how you can get involved.
PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR TEXAS
The Hemp Beverage Alliance submitted comments to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and voiced concern about severity of the sanctions for violations of their proposed hemp beverage regulations.
The HBA urged the Commission to make a limited revision that allows civil penalties in lieu of license suspension or cancellation, but supported cancellation or multi-year ineligibility for repeated or egregious conduct.
Read the full comments here.
PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR MINNESOTA
The Hemp Beverage Alliance submitted comments to the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management urging a temporary 120-day implementation allowance to permit manufacturers to use any accredited registered laboratory while Minnesota-licensed facilities complete method validation and expand capacity.
Read the full letter here.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE JOINS CRAFT BEER & BREWING PODCAST TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HEMP BEVERAGES
The Hemp Beverage Alliance spoke with the Craft Beer & Brewing podcast this week and talked about the challenges the industry is facing in this very uncertain regulatory climate. The hemp beverage industry is “a brand new thing and it still has captured the imagination and the consumer dollars of millions of adults,” said HBA President Christopher Lackner. “So what’s at risk is not what the size of the category now, but what the category could be in two years, five years and in ten years. The stakes are very very high.”
Listen to the full episode of the Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast.
CANWORKS JOINS HBA ADVISORY BOARD
The Hemp Beverage Alliance is pleased to announce that Canworks has joined the Advisory Board and will bring the voice of the canning and packaging industry to the hemp beverage discussion. Brothers Ryan and Marshall Thompson formed the company in 2021, and now prints more than 500,000 cans a day in their three manufacturing facilities in Austin, San Diego and Atlanta.
The HBA Advisory Board provides critical insight, support and expertise on issues related to supply chain and distribution. Advisory board members provide recommendations on the Alliance’s policy positions, provide support with organizational growth, and collaborate on marketing and public relations.
“The packaging industry employs thousands of people who rely on the success of the hemp beverage category,” said Marshall Thompson. “Canworks is pleased to help the Hemp Beverage Alliance achieve our goals for sensible regulation which will bolster the success of the category.”
Canworks joins a roster of diverse companies on the HBA Advisory Board that includes: Alternative Horizons Group; Dartbank Specialty Banking; EVG Extracts; Frontier Risk; Northern Diversified Solutions; Perfectly Dosed; Redwood Beverage; Southern Crown Partners; and Surfside.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE ON NPR’s “ALL THINGS CONSIDERED”
NPR heard from the Hemp Beverage Alliance about how the category has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, and how that could all come to an end if the federal ban is allowed to take effect in a year.
Listen to the story here.
HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE MEMBERS JOIN MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS TO PUSH BACK AGAINST FEDERAL HEMP BAN
Minnesota lawmakers held a press conference today to voice their concern over the federal hemp ban that will cost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state.
Minnesota U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee) and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (co-chair of the House Cannabis Caucus) vowed to fight for federal legislation that would regulate and strengthen the hemp beverage industry.
“This is about jobs. It’s about our small businesses, our breweries and our farmers,” Klobuchar said, adding that hemp -infused products have brought in $16 million in Minnesota state tax revenue through September this year.
“While the ban doesn’t go into effect for a year, every day we fail to address this is another day of uncertainty in a very uncertain time in our economy.”
The lawmakers were joined by HBA members Ryan Kopperud of Birdie & Wild State Cider, Bob Galligan of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, and Omar Ansari of Surly Brewing Company who all expressed their concerns about the current legislation that could effectively close the hemp beverage industry in one year’s time without new federal regulations.