Independent Validation Is the Foundation of a Trustworthy THC Beverage Industry

By Leah Kollross, Founder, 23rd State

When I sat down to write my recent op-ed on the cannabis beverage industry's validation crisis, I knew it would touch a nerve. What I didn't expect was how quickly trade publications across the cannabis and hemp ecosystem would recognize the urgency of the message — and use their platforms to carry the conversation forward.

This week, I want to take a moment to thank Hemp Gazette for highlighting the op-ed in their April 29, 2026 roundup, "Hemp Amendments Stall in Congress Amid Recriminalization Co…". Steven Gothrinet's reporting placed the call for THC beverage product validation alongside some of the most consequential federal and state policy stories shaping our industry right now — and that context matters more than I think most readers realize.

Why Hemp Gazette's Coverage Matters

Hemp Gazette is one of the longest-running, most respected voices in the international hemp and cannabis press. Based in Australia and read by operators, regulators, scientists, and investors across multiple continents, the publication has spent more than a decade covering industrial hemp, medical cannabis, CBD science, and the policy frameworks that govern them all.

When a publication with that reach amplifies a conversation about cannabis beverage validation, it tells me — and should tell every operator in this space — that the issue has moved beyond an internal industry debate. It is now a global signal about consumer trust, scientific rigor, and the conditions our category needs to survive the next phase of regulatory evolution.

I'm grateful to Hemp Gazette and to Steven Gothrinet for choosing to feature this piece, and I want to use this post to expand on why independent validation is the conversation we cannot afford to delay.

A Second Signal: Hemp Gazette's Dedicated Validation Coverage

Just days after the April 29 roundup, Hemp Gazette went further. On May 2, 2026, Steven Gothrinet published a dedicated standalone feature, "Cannabis Beverage Industry Faces Regulatory Scrutiny Over Insufficient Product Validation," treating the validation crisis as a story worthy of its own deep-dive analysis rather than a single bullet in a weekly news wrap.

That editorial decision says something important. When a publication of Hemp Gazette's stature takes the time to unpack the data deficit in detail — walking readers through the implications for retailers making shelf decisions, legislators drafting hemp THC regulations, and consumers making purchasing decisions based on unverified claims — they are signaling that this is no longer a nice-to-have conversation. It is a structural risk to the entire cannabis beverage category, and one that deserves the same sustained coverage Hemp Gazette gives to congressional gridlock, DEA scheduling decisions, and Farm Bill negotiations.

The piece also did something I deeply appreciate: it foregrounded the MoreBetter Real-World Infused Beverage Study and the broader 5,000-participant, 20-brand dataset that is finally beginning to document just how much variability exists between products on dimensions like onset time, duration, taste, and consistency. That data is exactly the kind of shared evidentiary base our industry has been missing — and seeing it elevated in independent trade media is a meaningful step forward for everyone working to build a category that can stand up to regulatory scrutiny.

The Hemp Amendments, Section 781, and the Stakes for THC Beverages

Hemp Gazette's roundup focused on a critical legislative moment: competing congressional amendments aimed at either delaying or accelerating the scheduled federal recriminalization of certain hemp-derived THC products failed to advance to a House floor vote. One was withdrawn. The other was blocked by the House Rules Committee. The result is a regulatory holding pattern at exactly the moment when our industry needs clarity.

That holding pattern has a name in many of the conversations I'm having with industry colleagues right now: Section 781. It refers to the impending federal reclassification framework that could reshape — or wipe out — large portions of the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Whether you produce a perry like our FRESH PRESS, a sparkling wine alternative like Blush Crush Infused Bubbly, or one of the dozens of formats now lining beverage retailer shelves, your business depends on policy decisions being made in real time, often without the benefit of rigorous data.

That is exactly why validation is so important. When lawmakers debate whether hemp-derived THC products should be permitted, restricted, or recriminalized, they need to be making those decisions based on real-world evidence about how these products are actually used and how they actually affect consumers. They need data — not marketing copy.

The Validation Crisis in Cannabis Beverages

Here's the uncomfortable truth I tried to surface in the op-ed: most cannabis beverage brands cannot independently substantiate the claims they put on their labels and in their advertising. Onset times, duration, dose consistency, the differences between drinking and smoking, the lifestyle and harm-reduction benefits we all love to cite — most of it is either anecdotal, marketing-led, or borrowed from research that was never designed to test infused beverages specifically.

For a maturing category positioning itself as a genuine alcohol alternative, that is not sustainable. Sober-curious consumers, harm-reduction advocates, retailers, regulators, and investors all need more than vibes. They need science.

When operators make claims they can't back up, three things happen, and none of them are good.

The first is consumer disappointment. A drinker who expects a 15-minute onset and instead waits an hour for a product to work doesn't try again. They tell their friends, and our category loses a customer who might otherwise have replaced their beer or their cocktail with something better for their long-term wellbeing.

The second is regulatory backlash. When unsubstantiated claims circulate widely enough, regulators step in — and they don't always step in carefully. The current debate over Section 781 is partially a response to the perception that hemp-derived THC beverages operate in a Wild West of unverified marketing.

The third is a credibility deficit for the operators who are doing the work. When the loudest voices in the room can't back up their claims, the brands investing in real research get drowned out.

How 23rd State Is Trying to Change the Equation

This is why 23rd State partnered with MoreBetter on the Real-World Infused Beverage Study. Across two cohorts of participants, we have now generated some of the most rigorous independent data ever collected on how cannabis beverages actually perform in everyday use — covering everything from onset and duration to occasion-based consumption patterns, sleep impact, harm reduction outcomes, and the substitution dynamics between infused beverages and alcohol.

The study is not a marketing exercise. MoreBetter designed and ran it independently. The findings have informed our product development, our consumer education, and the way we talk to retailers about why our SHAKE THC+CBG glitter drops, FRESH PRESS pear cider, and Blush Crush Infused Bubbly belong on the same shelf — and often in the same basket — as the wine and craft beer your customers already love.

But the study was never just about us. From the beginning, the goal was to contribute peer-quality evidence to a category that desperately needs it. We share findings publicly. We cite them in policy conversations. We hand them to journalists and trade groups and lawmakers because we believe the entire THC beverage category benefits when claims are backed by data.

Why This Conversation Belongs in Hemp Trade Media

One of the things I appreciate most about Hemp Gazette featuring this op-ed is the editorial signal it sends: the validation conversation is not just an adult-use cannabis story. It's a hemp story. It's a cannabinoid science story. It's a regulatory story. And it cuts across every silo our industry has built for itself.

For too long, the hemp and cannabis worlds have operated as if they were entirely separate industries with entirely separate concerns. They are not. The plant is the same. The cannabinoids are the same. The consumers are increasingly the same. And the policy decisions being made in Washington — including the ones Hemp Gazette tracks every week — apply pressure to all of us at once.

This is exactly why I have been spending so much of my time working with the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Hemp Beverage Alliance, the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Hemp, the Hemp Industries Federation of America, and the Cannabis Beverage Association. Unification is not a buzzword. It is a survival strategy. And it has to be grounded in real evidence — not just shared talking points.

When trade publications like Hemp Gazette treat cannabis beverage validation as a hemp policy story, they are modeling exactly the kind of cross-sector thinking the industry needs more of.

A Call to Operators, Investors, and Retailers

If you are an operator in the THC beverage space, please consider this an open invitation: invest in independent validation. Partner with researchers. Publish your data. Build your brand on evidence that will hold up when a lawmaker, a journalist, or a skeptical consumer asks the hard questions.

If you are an investor evaluating opportunities in this category, ask harder questions about validation before you commit capital. Brands that can substantiate their claims are the ones that will still be standing on the other side of the next regulatory cycle.

If you are a retailer, ask your suppliers for the data behind the marketing. The vendors worth carrying will have answers.

And if you are a consumer who has already made the switch from alcohol to a cannabis beverage like ours, thank you. You are the reason this category exists. You deserve products that perform exactly as promised — not because we said so on the label, but because the science says so.

Thank You Again, Hemp Gazette

To Steven Gothrinet and the Hemp Gazette editorial team: thank you for elevating this conversation. Your decision to feature the op-ed in a roundup that also covered congressional gridlock, state-level workplace protections for medical cannabis patients, and the long historical record of cannabis cultivation in northern China made the case better than I could have on my own. Validation is not a side issue. It belongs alongside every other major story shaping our industry's future.

Readers who want to see the full Hemp Gazette coverage can find both pieces here: the April 29 roundup, "Hemp Amendments Stall in Congress Amid Recriminalization Co…", and the May 2 standalone feature, "Cannabis Beverage Industry Faces Regulatory Scrutiny Over Insufficient Product Validation." I encourage everyone in our industry to read both — and to subscribe to Hemp Gazette's coverage if you don't already. The work they do matters, and the more of us paying attention, the better positioned our entire ecosystem will be to navigate what's coming next.

At 23rd State, we are going to keep investing in validation. We are going to keep sharing what we learn. And we are going to keep showing up for the policy conversations that determine whether the THC beverage category gets to grow up — or gets legislated out of existence.

Thank you, Hemp Gazette, for helping us push that conversation forward.

Recommended

• What Real Consumers Actually Want From THC Dosing
• Why Half of THC Beverage Consumers Don't Buy
• Why People Really Drink THC Beverages
• How People Actually Use Infused Beverages Data Study
• Why How Fast You Feel It Changes Everything
• Here's What the Sleep Data from the Study Showed.
• What Happens to Your Smoking Habit When You Switch to a Cannabis Beverage?
• THC Beverages, Onset Time, Duration & No Hangover Data
• What Infused Beverage Shoppers Tell Us About Purchases

About 23rd State: 23rd State is a Minnesota-based cannabis beverage brand founded in 2023, the year Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis. Our product lineup includes SHAKE THC+CBG edible glitter drops (Emerald, Cosmo, and 24k Gold), FRESH PRESS THC+CBG pear cider, and Blush Crush Infused Bubbly. Learn more at 23state.com.