CEOs are scrambling to save the THC beverage industry after a newly passed hemp crackdown threatens to wipe out a billion-dollar drink category.
Jack Sherrie, founder and CEO of Delta Beverages, said he’s working with competitors and others in the industry to save their companies, many of which are small, founder-led businesses.
“It’s funny, we were competing and now we’re coming together,” Sherrie told Business Insider. “We call it a co-opetition.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with capitalism and competition, but I think that we’re definitely going to have to work together as a unit to get something passed,” he added. “And we’re all very well aware of that.”
Delta sells seltzers infused with THC derived from hemp, which was made legal by a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for hemp-derived products containing a limited amount of THC.
Under the funding package that reopened the government this month, Congress effectively closed that loophole. The new hemp measure, set to take effect in November 2026, bans products that contain more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. As a result, it would effectively ban many hemp-derived THC products currently on the market, like Delta.
“This quite literally is going to end up killing the hemp industry,” Sherrie said, adding that the measure was quietly and suddenly slipped into the bill last minute, taking many in the industry by surprise.
Jake Bullock, CEO of Cann, another THC beverage company, shared similar concerns with Business Insider after the measure was passed, though he said he did not view it as a ban but instead a “one-year shot clock” for the industry to secure legislation it has long needed.
Sherrie and Bullock both said they were optimistic that new legislation could happen. The goal now is to get Congress to pass rules that will regulate the industry and ensure some hemp-derived products can continue being sold.
The CEOs said the restrictions were aimed at highly potent synthetic products, often candies, that are marketed toward kids and sold in accessible places like gas stations, rather than THC drinks, which are generally far less potent.
They also said they believe Congress is open to passing legislation that would legalize and regulate THC beverages, which have grown in popularity, especially among Gen Z, as Americans have cut back on their alcohol consumption.
Sherrie said the industry is working closely with lawmakers to propose a THC beverage bill, hopefully by the end of December.
Meanwhile, it’s been a tough time for founders like Sherrie, who said sleep was nonexistent for him during the week the bill made its way through Congress and to President Donald Trump’s desk.
“A lot of us are entrepreneurs. We’re small businesses. We’re not some giant corporation trying to take over the world,” he said. “We’re trying to thrive, and we’re just trying to do our best.”
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