On Friday, Ohio will ban “intoxicating hemp products” as part of Senate Bill 56, eliminating products like edibles and THC-infused drinks—and plenty of Cincinnatians aren’t happy, especially bar industry professionals.
For several bars in the Cincinnati area, carrying THC-infused drinks has been a huge sales boon.
“THC drinks are extremely popular for us. We have a lot of customers looking for non-alcoholic beverages that aren’t just juice,” said Brynn Kinnard, general manager of the nightclub Alice. “They cater to people who are … I won’t say anti-drinking, but are very much disillusioned with alcohol and hangovers and such. There’s not really that drawback with these drinks.”
Sales have been so hot for THC beverages in Ohio that Fifty West Brewing Co. founder Bobby Slattery said the brewery is “on pace to sell more THC beverages than we are beer.” Now, bars and breweries across the city will soon lose all that revenue thanks to the ban.
“I knew people that had stopped going out to bars because they do not drink, and they didn’t really see bars as being a viable option for social interaction. And then we released these THC drinks, and suddenly you have more people and different faces in the bar,” Kinnard said. “I think it’s definitely going to hurt us a little bit, and I think it will negatively impact the city’s social scene.”
Joe Dunn, general manager of Cousin Jeffrey’s Honky Tonk, didn’t mince words with his feelings on the ban.
“It’s fuckin’ bullshit. This market is gonna keep booming if it has a chance. I know they’re outselling both liquor and beer in some places,” Dunn said. “We’re pretty upset about losing these THC drinks… just having more options gives more people the chance to come out.”
For Dunn, who has been alcohol-free for six years, THC seltzers give him another way to enjoy himself in his free time. They’re popular at the bar he runs, too, with Cousin Jeffrey’s selling through “two to three cases of 24 a week, on average” of Fifty West’s popular THC seltzer Sunflower.
Not drinking is a stance that many Americans, especially gen-Z and younger, are taking these days. A recent Gallup poll found that only 54% of U.S. citizens now drink alcohol on a moderate, regular basis—and the ones who do drink are drinking less.
“These kids don’t drink like previous generations have. They’re not going out and ripping shots like my generation was,” Dunn said. “They’re just more conscious about how they’re drinking. And with these THC seltzers, you don’t have to go overboard, you don’t get a hangover, there’s just so many upsides to it and very little downside.”
While Highball Cincy doesn’t carry canned THC beverages like many bars in the area do, the bar’s general manager Jamie Black found a unique way to incorporate it into their offerings. Highball uses a Delta 9-based liquor alternative that allows bartenders to create cocktails similar to the ones you’d find on a regular bar menu, like a Moscow mule or a gimlet.
“I think when people aren’t drinking, sometimes it can be kind of embarrassing to order a mocktail. You’re afraid people are going to be like ‘Oh, why aren’t you drinking?’, but that never happens with THC,” Black said. “When people are trying to stop or curb their drinking, these don’t have that taboo or judgment that comes with getting, like, a non-alcoholic beer. I think the loss of these products heavily impacts how comfortable people are to be in a bar space.”
Black credits the general decline in drinking to a cultural shift after the COVID-19 pandemic, and says she’s never heard “any negative feedback, any complaints or any regrets” from a single customer when it comes to adverse side effects from THC-infused drinks. She knows plenty of people who have cut out alcohol and use the drinks as a replacement because of “alcohol’s long-term effects on physical and especially mental health.”
“The only drawback is that you might get a little sleepy. Nobody ever says ‘I went to the bar and I had a THC drink and then I made out with five people and don’t remember it.’ I’ve only heard positive things,” she said.
Kinnard said they’ve had guests come in and request even more THC-infused drinks than they already carry at Alice because of the prevalent idea that they’re a healthier alternative to alcohol.
“If you were to go on a bender and drink 20 THC seltzers, you’d probably just fall asleep and have a super, super dry mouth versus needing to get your stomach pumped if you drank that much alcohol,” Kinnard said. “These drinks give people the same experience they’re looking for with alcohol, but with a better sense of control.”
Black says that people will now feel more “excluded” from third spaces due to the ban, and it will harm not only bar sales but the sense of community in the area.
“The introduction of THC beverages has brought people back to local nightlife in a big way. And I think bars are important spaces, even if you don’t drink, because they are community hubs. They are spaces where people can gather and feel free of judgment and just be themselves and relax,” she said. “With these drinks, people can still be included, still be part of a community, meet people, go out, and have the social experience they’re looking for without needing alcohol.”
