Weed Drinks Could Be Coming Soon to the Saloon

Weed drinks offer an intriguing business opportunity for licensed producers looking to tackle expanding demographics.

Bruce Linton, the CEO for Canopy Growth, is “stirring the pot” once again. Linton thinks that with Canada’s upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana, there’s going to be a new trend: marijuana beverages.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, you know what that means…WEED DRINKS!

All jokes aside, there seem to be some major players in the cannabis industry who happen to agree.

Are Weed Drinks Gaining Traction?

Canopy Growth has gained support from American alcohol giant, Constellation Brands, the company behind such major summer-blockbuster hits like “Corona” and “Modelo.” It also helps that the Canadian cannabis producer is the very first purely marijuana focused stock to list on a U.S. exchange. It also doesn’t hurt that Constellation Brands also purchased a 9.9 percent stake in Canopy last fall.

Sounds A Little Like “You Scratch My Back And I’ll Drink Your Weed Drinks.” That Old Saying, No?

The two companies believe that marijuana beverages will be a massive market, and who is really going to argue against that? Considering how big the edible market is for cannabis, weed drinks could possibly be even bigger. The two corporations plan to start collaborating on something together this October after recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada, although they didn’t go so far as to guarantee it. 

Don’t be mistaken, this would most definitely be a boost for Constellation Brands north of the border as well. But really though, as if alcohol giants need any kind of push!

Could we be sipping on some weed drinks soon?

Linton was recently a guest of the CNBC show, “Mad Money” with host Jim Cramer on July 11th. Interestingly enough, he had this to say about the potential for a zero calorie beverage, with 80 possible mixtures of different cannabinoids.

“We expect we’ll be able to make beverages and those beverages will be no-calorie, they will cause you to feel upbeat. We’re talking about going into a bar and having a ‘Tweed and Tonic.”

Linton went on to say that, “we are, in the second half of 2019, going to be able to introduce a bunch of new products.” Linton then touched upon how he plans to tackle the black market, with “products that will allow us to compete better with the illicit market because part of the public policy isn’t just to make it legal, it’s to squeeze out the illegal.”

Energy Drinks vs. Weed Drinks

Linton even went as far as telling Cramer that tweed and tonic will become a “category creator” within cannabis culture. Similarly to the way energy drinks such as Monster and Red Bull operate there own categories within sports culture. I get what Bruce is saying, but sorry, using energy drinks to compare to weed drinks is just “bad taste.”

Linton then went on to explain to Cramer about the choices that he would like to present to the people here in the Great White North, “In Canada, what’s happening is the disruptor happens when a real product hits the market in a really structured way and people can make lawful choices.”

Do I want to fall asleep using Ambien or do I want to fall asleep through this one from the clinical trial from Canopy? Do I want to have a beverage that has alcohol or do I want to have a beverage with cannabis?”

Targeting Two Specific Markets For Weed Drinks

The CEO also added that he is going to be targeting two very specific markets, those who want to relax after a busy day, and those who want some energy before a night out. 

In my own personal opinion, if weed drinks can help reduce the number of energy drinks being consumed and replace them with a more natural choice, then “Tweed and Tonic” has my vote for approval. For example, in theory, a nice Sativa type of juice should give you energy.

Red Bull says that it “gives you wings”, but marijuana-infused beverages could take you even “higher.”

So move over “Purple Drank,” because some super dank “Green Drank” is coming to town.