THC-Seltzer Is Coming for Your Glass of Wine and Dallas Brewers Are Here for It (2024)

Dallas native Reagan Power is your typical go-getter. She’s 33, married, a mom of four and a registered nurse. She’s also a dealer.

But don’t be alarmed. She’s not dealing anything nefarious or illegal. Her 600 cannabis plants at Power Biopharms, which she co-founded with her husband, are 100% legal.

Her dealing started when her husband, Colt, had ongoing pain after years of playing lacrosse in high school and at Notre Dame. Lingering injuries were catching up with him. It was around the time of the pandemic, and Reagan was an ICU nurse in Dallas working 12-hour shifts. On the job, she would see people dealing with pain with opioids and the slippery slope to addiction they can create. She wanted her husband to avoid traditional pharmaceuticals, and she had been learning about alternative treatments. She suggested he give CBD a shot, which he did.

Also during this time, Colt’s full-time job in commercial real estate was slowing down. So, the Powers literally dug in. They started studying cannabis and what was allowed in the 2018 Farm Bill, which gave the OK to farmers to grow hemp, aka cannabis that doesn't get users high. Colt started growing some plants in their media room upstairs.

“Yeah, our parents probably thought we were insane,” Reagan says. “It [the media room] was nice. It was a dark room. It was contained in a way. And so he was like, ‘Let me just try it and see kind of what this entails.’”

Her only request was that he “keep it up there.”

The Powers found a grower to help cultivate the business, studied the science and regulations and started a “farm.” They use these plants to extract chemicals from cannabis to create a variety of products like the CBD gummies Reagan and Colt both use on occasion to help relieve pain from sports injuries (she played soccer when she was younger). Or Reagan takes one for a power nap. But that’s CBD, not the strictly regulated delta-9 THC. Both chemicals are cannabinoids found in cannabis plants, but, as Reagan explains, the latter is the compound that everyone knows for that high feeling, that psychoactive effect. CBD, however, purportedly has more anti-inflammatory benefits and helps with relaxation.

Power Biopharms deals in both.They sell CBD creams and gummies from their website and also offer CBD flower cigarettes, oils, balms and bath bombs. But one of their latest ventures involves delta-9 THC and Martin House Brewing Company and it leans into a growing national trend: marijuana as an alternative to alcohol. Studies show Americans are drinking less, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. We still want to unwind at the end of the day.

A recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that from 1979 to 2022, the number of Americans using marijuana daily skyrocketed and daily alcohol use fell. In line with that, THC-infused drinks are one of the fastest-growing segments in the hemp industry, and several North Texas breweries, along with producers like the Powers, are pushing this historically black-market enterprise mainstream, creating an alternative to that nightly glass (or bottle) of wine.

Bayou City Hemp Co. in Houston makes Howdy THC seltzer. CEO and co-founder Ben Meggs is explicit about their wine-sipping target audience.

“We're interested in capturing the soccer mom who is tired of drinking every day, who doesn't want to have a hangover the next day and wants to take the edge off. That's where we're going,” Meggs says.

Wine Not?

But what exactly is THC seltzer, besides a joint repurposed and branded for a soccer mom? And how is delta-9 legal in Texas, but we still can’t smoke a joint?

It started with the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which legalized hemp products that contain up to 0.3% delta-9 THC by weight. In 2019, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1325, bringing state law in line with federal law and lifting the haze on CBD shops.

While 0.3% of delta-9 THC by weight is allowed, anything more potent is still considered marijuana and remains illegal in Texas. To put things into perspective, a blunt contains around 1 gram of cannabis. Now, let's assume the THC potency of that weed clocks in at 5%. That would translate to roughly 50 milligrams of THC — quite the kick compared to the more modest 5 milligrams often found in cannabis-infused seltzers. (The cannabis website Leafly describes 5 milligrams in edibles as a "low" dose, capable of producing a high in new users who haven't built up a tolerance. Results at all doses depend on factors such as how the THC is consumed and the user's tolerance and size. Leafly, for example, calls 50 milligrams an "acute" dose. Certain members of the Observer staff consider it "a decent start.")

Colt Power saw that THC beverages were becoming popular in the years after the Farm Bill passed. He’s long been a fan of Martin House, so he approached the brewer about a collaboration. The Powers brought the hemp background and Martin House supplied the beverage know-how.

Shugg Cole, the director of marketing at Martin House, also saw this trend rolling in. “Some of our fans don't drink anymore, so this brew, Power House, along with our NA [non-alcoholic] seltzer, Wings, are great alternatives,” Cole says.

Together, they made a winner: Power House THC Strawberry seltzer, which has 5 milligrams of delta-9 in each 12-ounce can, won silver at the High Spirits Awards in Los Angeles this year.

Dallas-based Community Brewing also recently rolled out CannaBliss, a THC soft drink with 5 milligrams of delta-9 and 2 milligrams of CBD. CannaBliss does not contain any alcohol, nor do any of the other THC drinks we’ve come across.

Community’s founder, Kevin Carr, is always looking for opportunities to expand his company's repertoire. Finding a credible supplier was the tricky part.

“We went through quite a bit of testing and validation,” Carr told the Observer. “And so now we’ve got some suppliers that are totally legit and professional, and give us all the documentation and analysis reports we need to make sure that we’ve got a solid product.”

How High?

Most producers in Texas are sticking to 5 milligrams or less of delta-9 THC. Not because it’s the law (it’s not, in fact) but because that amount is roughly equivalent to the effect of a normal alcoholic drink.

“The market for beverages is typically 2.5 to 5 milligrams per can, but some brands are selling 10–25 milligram cans,” Colt says. “We came up with 5 milligrams per can with the intention of making it approachable to new consumers, with a relatively low dose, and also to make it drink more similar to a beer, where experienced consumers could drink a couple if they wanted to.”

The contents of a can of THC seltzer are more transparent than what’s in a $20 bottle of wine, a Coors Light or even your grandma’s meatloaf. Every can of THC seltzer comes with a QR code that links to a certificate of analysis (COA), a lab report with a breakout of cannabinoids. Imbibers can see the exact amount of THC and which variety (delta-8 or delta-9, for example) is in each can. They can also learn how much arsenic, mercury, palladium and selenium are in each can, if so inclined. And just like the ABV (alcohol by volume) on a can of Shiner or bottle of vodka, the amount of THC is printed on the can (in addition to the QR code).

Meggs also keeps the dose low in Howdy Seltzer.

“We want people to be able to go to Spec’s or go to H-E-B or any retailer, that's the goal,” Meggs says. “That's where we're trying to get to, and that's where we see the big differences. And in order to do that, you've got to put out low-dose, responsible and approachable products. And that's what we've done.”

The body absorbs THC more slowly when ingested versus when inhaled. So, how quickly will you get high from one can? There’s no single answer to that, but in terms of replacing your glass of red wine with a THC seltzer, Reagan Power, like all the producers we talked to, is adamant about starting slow.

“For someone who's never really cared for pot before, I would drink like a half of a seltzer and see how you feel,” Reagan says in the most mild-mannered mom voice. “Give it an hour or two. And if you're like, ‘Oh, I don't really feel anything,’ maybe have the other half. … Because you can always take more, but it's a terrible feeling to have taken too much and then you're stressed by this situation.”

To Alcohol or Cannabis?

Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder studied imaging data that compared the effects of alcohol and marijuana on the brain. They found that alcohol consumption was linked to long-term changes to the structure of white and gray matter in the brain, but the use of marijuana seemed to have no significant long-term effects on brain structure.

After the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported on the shift from alcohol to marijuana, Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Yale University and author of the book Weed Science, joined NPR’s show All Things Considered to break down the study.

“So the joke among cannabis researchers is if marijuana is a gateway drug, it’s a gateway to your refrigerator,” he said. While Dr. Pearlson has a good appreciation for the munchies, he told NPR that society has “done ourselves no favors through exaggerating the dangers of recreational drugs of all types, including cannabis.”

He acknowledges that some of the myths tied to cannabis are downright ridiculous (sterility and an inclination towards mass violence), but there are real risks, albeit small compared to other drugs.

Scott Detrow of NPR pressed Dr. Pearlson for an answer: “Bottom line, this shift that we saw in this study, marijuana outpacing alcohol, seems like you're saying it's actually a good thing for our brains and our health if you compare, directly compare the two, assuming both are used in moderation and safely?”

Dr. Pearlson offers, “Yeah, I would argue that,” ending with a note that too much of anything is never good.

The War on the Farm Bill

So what could the problem be? Well, the man, of course. After the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill and the rise of the cannabis industry, some states are trying to get the wandering-but-not-lost horse back in the barn.

The Farm Bill is reauthorized and amended every five years (in 2023 that process was extended to September 2024). This year, as lawmakers get set to tweak the bill, 21 state attorney generals have sent a letter to Congress calling attention to vagueness in the original hemp text, writing that it has “led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products” and “bad actors” who have exploited the bill’s original intentions.

A loophole of sorts was created because the 2018 Farm Bill did not impose specific limitations on other forms of THC, like delta-8, which can also produce a high but is typically less potent than delta-9. It also occurs naturally in cannabis plants in tiny amounts, so delta-8 is created by chemical processes that convert CBD or delta-9 in unregulated labs.

Meggs at Bayou City welcomes more regulation. And being transparent about what’s in his products is crucial, particularly for new customers.

“Delta-9 is what is proscribed in the Farm Bill,” Meggs says. “It's also what was passed in HB 1325. It's the definition of hemp. … That is the only thing we make. That is the only thing we put in products. We don't produce delta-8 products. We don't produce delta-10 products. We don't do any of that. We use the law as it's written, and we specifically produce the products as the law is written.”

Also part of the problem, the AGs argue, is that some of the products on the market look like candy and have high potency levels with no regulation or oversight. The AGs want to see oversight at the state level.

“We obviously don't want excessively high milligram products in the market,” says Jeromy Sherman, chief business officer and co-founder at Bayou City Hemp. “That's not the right way to introduce these products. … Go to any place that has our products and we'll have low-dose gummies and beverages, and that's all we produce. That's the game we're playing. That's the right way.”

There are competing forces, however. Some legislators are looking to wipe hemp use off the map, even as the Drug Enforcement Administration recently moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton sued five Texas cities after voters approved measures to decriminalize marijuana, and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is already plotting an outright ban of delta-8 and delta-9 products during the 2025 legislative session.

In late May, Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller proposed an amendment to the Farm Bill that would ban any level of THC in ingestible products. It passed out of committee and is headed to the House for debate. Whether it will pass and squash a $7 billion hemp industry has some a bit anxious.

North Texas cannabis attorney Chelsie Spencer told the Observer that there’s concern, but it’s not time to hit the panic button.

“The Senate has incredibly strong supporters of the hemp industry,” Spencer wrote in an email, “including the original drafters of the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills. I do expect to see regulations on intoxicating hemp products, but not a complete prohibition.”

Reagan says she and her husband keep an eye on things but don’t let the daily news bites fluster them.

“We try and just keep our head down and do our thing and work within the rules that they present us,” Reagan says.

She’s not ready to give up on Texas, saying “we’re planted here,” without even intending the pun.