This week is a good time to buy THC drinks at Bloomington-Normal liquor stores — before they're gone.
A new federal law will reclassify any consumable or topical product with more than 0.4 mg of total THC as a cannabis product. Currently they are classified as hemp products, which are less regulated than cannabis products. This means restaurants and liquor stores will no longer be able to sell THC drinks, and consumers will have to go to a dispensary to get them.
The ban goes into effect Nov. 12 in Illinois. Federally, the change is effective Dec. 11.
The ban on THC drinks comes at a time when fewer Americans than ever drink alcohol and more Americans report consuming marijuana products over alcohol products.
At Binny's on Veterans Parkway in Bloomington, management has lowered prices on THC drinks in an attempt to clear the shelves of them prior to the ban.
"We sent out an ad, advertising 'the ban's coming, time to stock up,'" said Bloomington's Laura Rapp, a manager at Binny's. "Put it all on sale, and we're just trying to work through it as quickly as we can."
Binny's had two tall stacks and roughly a third of a retail aisle left of the drinks. This is much less inventory than it normally offers, Rapp said. Binny's has stopped replacing what sells.
Rapp says the THC drinks were popular, and she's not completely sure what consumers will replace them with.
"The non-alcoholic category in general was really taking off, so I don't know if they'll switch back to that, like mocktails and things like that," she said. She added if consumers really still want the THC drinks, they'll need to go to a cannabis dispensary to get them. There are currently four dispensaries in Normal and two in Bloomington.
Fresh Thyme Market on Veterans Parkway also stocks THC drinks. A manager there confirmed they are no longer replacing what sells between now and Nov. 12.
Four liquor stores near the campus of Illinois State University told WGLT they had never stocked THC drinks.
