Introducing the Louisiana Hemp Beverage Coalition

Louisiana's hemp beverage industry faces an existential federal deadline. We're not waiting.

What's at Stake

On November 12, 2026, a provision buried in a federal appropriations bill takes effect. The new federal THC limit of 0.4 milligrams per container — slipped into must-pass spending legislation during a government shutdown fight — would make virtually every hemp-derived beverage on the Louisiana market illegal overnight. Not because these products are unsafe. Not because consumers are asking for a ban. Because Congress acted without a framework, and the clock is running.

Louisiana's hemp beverage sector generated $33 million in sales and $4.3 million in state tax revenue last year. More than 1,000 licensed retailers operate across the state under strict ATC oversight. An entire ecosystem — manufacturers, distributors, retailers — built inside a framework Louisiana lawmakers deliberately created. That investment and those jobs are on the line.

Louisiana Already Got This Right

Louisiana didn't wait for Washington. The state's hemp beverage rules include a 5mg THC cap per container, mandatory lab testing, licensed retailers and distributors, product registrations, and 21+ age verification. The federal ban would not be addressing an unregulated market. It would be dismantling a functioning one.

LHBC is not the industry's first organized response to a ban attempt. In 2024, when Louisiana lawmakers proposed a state-level prohibition, the hemp beverage industry organized, conducted voter research, and made its case directly to the legislature. And we prevailed. The coalition was built on that experience, with a broader membership base and a federal target.

"We started Crescent Canna as a small Louisiana business and grew it into the #1 seller of THC drinks in the country — inside Louisiana's regulatory framework, because we believed in doing this right. A federal ban doesn't protect consumers or eliminate demand. It just removes a functioning regulated market and hands the advantage to whatever comes next. We're not going to let that happen without a fight."

— Joe Gerrity, CEO of Crescent Canna and LHBC Founding Member

The Coalition

Hemp beverages are one of the fastest-growing categories in adult beverages. LHBC's founding members — Crescent Canna, Louie Louie, Driftee, and Blush Seltzers — are bringing together the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with the most at stake to fund coordinated advocacy, commission independent voter research, and engage Louisiana's federal delegation directly before the deadline arrives.