Ep 13: Will 'Let's Grab a Drink' Still Mean Alcohol? — The Shift

with Filip Gacic · The Shift, a podcast by Headquarters

THC drinks are chasing alcohol's social occasions, not other cannabis products. Plus: hemp's regulatory reckoning and the end of 'one' industry.

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Transcript

Auto-generated from the episode audio and lightly edited for readability.

0:08 For decades, if you wanted to have a drink with your friends, you have one option, alcohol. We are talking beer, wine, cocktails. That was the social experience. But what if I told you cannabis is no longer trying to compete with other

0:26 cannabis products? What if its biggest competitor is actually alcohol? Because I think that's exactly what's starting to happen. And according to Axio Chicago, THC infused beverages were one of the biggest attractions surrounding this year's La

0:45 Palooa Festival as consumers continue embracing cannabis drinks while lawmakers debate how these products should be regulated. now because I don't think the story is the festival and I don't even think the story is the drinks. I think the story is changing consumer behavior. Think

1:03 about it. 20 years ago, if someone wanted to consume cannabis, there weren't many options. You smoked it, maybe you ate a brownie if you're lucky. Today, vapes, gummies, capsules, topicals, beverages, cannabis has become a

1:21 consumer products industry. And beverages might be its most interesting category yet. Why? Because unlike smoking, drinking is already a social habit. People meet for drinks after work. They go to concerts with a drink in their hand. They celebrate birthdays

1:40 with a drink. They watch sports with a drink. Cannabis companies aren't asking consumers to build a new habit. They're asking, "What if your next drink wasn't alcohol?" That's a very different strategy. Now, am I saying THC beverages are going to replace beer tomorrow? Absolutely not.

1:59 Alcohol has been part of human culture for thousands of years. But I do think we're seeing something interesting and younger consumers are increasingly looking for alternatives. Some don't want the hangover. Some don't enjoy smoking. Others simply look for a

2:18 different social experience. And suddenly cannabis beverages start make a lot of sense. Here's another thing I find fascinating. The biggest opportunity might not even be cannabis consumers. It might be people who have never considered themselves cannabis users at all. Someone who would never

2:38 walk into a dispensary to buy a flower might have no problem trying a lowd dose THC beverage at a social gathering. That's how entirely new markets are created. Now, according to Axios, the growing popularity of these products is also forcing lawmakers to ask new

2:58 questions about regulation labeling and where these beverages should actually be sold. I mean, and honestly, that's exactly what happens when a new category starts becoming mainstream. Regulation usually follows consumer demand and not the other way

3:16 around. So here's the question I'd leave you with. Five years from now, when someone says, "Let's go grab a drink," will they automatically mean alcohol? Or should THC beverages become just another option sitting in the cooler? Because if

3:34 that happens, we're no longer talking about cannabis competing with cannabis. We're talking about cannabis competing when one of the largest consumer industries in the world. And that's a much bigger conversation. So what's the shift? The shift is this. The next battle in cannabis may not be fought

3:53 inside dispensaries. It may be fought in restaurants, concerts, grocery stores, and every place where consumers decide what they're going to drink. And if that's true, the cannabis industry isn't just creating new products. It's creating entirely new habits. Now,

4:12 let me ask you another question. This episode is going to be a lot about questions. So, can an industry become a victim of its own success? Now, I want you to think about this because I think that's exactly what's happening with hemp right now. You heard it right, hemp. So, for years, hemp was seen as

4:30 cannabis quieter cousin. It wasn't the product making headlines. It wasn't at the center of legalization debates. In fact, after the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was celebrated as a new agricultural opportunity. Farmers were excited.

4:49 Entrepreneurs rushed into the market. Investors saw potential. And for a while, everyone seemed to win. But then something changed. According to Axio, really lawmakers in North Carolina are considering legislation that would significantly

5:07 restrict intoxicating hemp products as regulators across the country continue re-evaluating how hemp derived cannabonoids should be sold and marketed. Now, this isn't just a North Carolina story, and it's not really about one state. I think it's a preview of a much

5:25 bigger conversation because here's what happened. The hemp industry innovated faster than the regulations evolved. New cannabonoids entered the market. You know, Delta A, we have Delta 10, THCA, hemp derived THC beverages, products

5:44 that most consumers had never even heard of a few years ago. Innovation moved quickly. Regulation on the other hand did not. And when that happens, governments eventually try to catch up. Whether you agree with these regulations or not, that's usually how new

6:03 industries develop. First comes innovation, then comes adoption, then comes regulation. We've seen it happen with RI ride sharing. We've seen it happen with cryptocurrency. We've seen it happen with artificial intelligence. And now we're watching it happen with hemp as well. So, here's what I find interesting about this one. The

6:22 companies that survive probably won't be the ones that found the biggest loopholes. They'll be the ones that can adapt the fastest because regulations change, markets change, consumer preferences change, adaptability does not. And

6:41 honestly, I think that's one of the biggest lessons in business. building your entire company around a regulatory gray area can be incredibly profitable until that gray area disappears. That's why the strongest businesses usually build around something much harder the to regulate away.

7:01 Customer trust, brand reputation, product quality, operational excellence, those things don't disappear because a lot changes. So here's the question I leave you with. Did the hemp industry move too fast for its own good? Or is this simply what happens every time

7:19 innovation gets ahead of regulation? Because I don't think the story is really about hemp. I think this is about every fast growing industry that eventually runs into the same challenge. So let's see what's the shift here. Innovation creates opportunity, but

7:40 long-term success belongs to the businesses that can evolve when the rules inevitably change. Because in business, the companies that survive aren't always the first to innovate. They're usually the fastest to adapt. And lastly, I want to end today's

8:00 episode with a question as well um that's been on my mind lately. What business is the cannabis industry actually in? I know that sounds like a strange question, but but hear me out. So, for years, we described cannabis as an

8:18 industry, but is it really just one industry anymore? Think about everything we've talked about to date. So, THC beverages, hemp derived products. We also talked about medical cannabis, pharmaceutical research, retail dispensaries, cultivation technology, compliance. They're all connected by one

8:37 plan, but they're becoming completely different businesses. Imagine saying the word automotive. Are you talking about Ferrari, Volvo, Tesla, Caterpillar, Formula 1? They're all technically automotive, but they're playing completely different games.

8:55 I think cannabis is reaching that same point. Someone developing cannabonoid based medicines isn't solving the same problems as someone opening a dispensary. A hemp beverage company isn't competing the same way a cultivation facility is.

9:13 A technology company serving cannabis operators isn't even selling cannabis. Yet, we still put them all under one label, the cannabis industry. Maybe that's becoming too simple. Maybe the cannabis industry isn't becoming the bigger industry. Maybe it's becoming more specialized. And honestly, I think

9:33 that's a sign of maturity in a way because every major industry eventually splits into smaller industries. Look at healthcare. Healthcare did. Technology did, finance did, agriculture did. Why would cannabis be any different? And that's why I think the next few years are going to be quite

9:52 interesting. Not because cannabis is changing, um, but because people are finally starting to realize there isn't just one cannabis business anymore. There are dozens of them. And each one has different customers, different regulations, different opportunities,

10:10 different challenges. And the question I leave you with today is the following. The next time someone says,"I work in cannabis," ask yourself, "what does that actually mean?" Because in 2026, the the answer

10:28 is becoming more difficult to define than ever. So, what's the shift? The shift is we keep talking about the cannabis industry as if it's one business. I don't think it is anymore. I think we're watching the birth of an entire economic ecosystem and we're only

10:47 just beginning to understand how diverse it's becoming.