Danny McPherson enjoys the occasional alcohol buzz, he said, but he also covets a good night’s sleep. Fortunately, according to the restaurateur, that’s one of the benefits of his Grind with Gratitude line of THC seltzers.
He needs the rest too. The co-owner of the Brunches restaurant chain, which has four locations in the Wilmington area, launched a new line of beverages in January.
Sales of the THC drinks – THC being short for tetrahydrocannabinol, which is found in marijuana but in this case derived from hemp – have increased by more than 100% each month, he said. In March, Total Wine & More, a national alcohol retailer, added GWG to its Wilmington shelves, where two of its flavors (kiwi strawberry and lemon drop) became top sellers. The company ramped up production in response to that success, and by May, Total Wine introduced the drinks statewide.
“And again, at the end of (May), we were the No. 1 selling THC seltzer for Total Wine in the entire state of North Carolina,” McPherson said.
Now that the company has expanded into South Carolina, Delaware, New Jersey, Nebraska and Indiana, he expects the drinks to be on shelves in at least 15 states by the end of the year. In addition to North Carolina, Grind with Gratitude is bottled in Utah, Tennessee and New Jersey, McPherson said.
According to cannabis industry reports, consumers spent more than $1 billion on THC drinks in 2024. Matched with declining interest in alcohol among Gen Z compared to previous generations, as well as the growing number of people seeking beverages with fewer calories or the effects of the active delta-9 cannabinoid without smoking, “It’s a trend you can’t ignore any longer,” McPherson said.
But the trend could face more regulation in the future.
After the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 gained approval, hemp was no longer a controlled substance. “The 2018 farm bill defines ‘hemp’ as any part of the cannabis plant or its derivatives containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC) on a dry-weight basis. Delta-9 THC is a cannabinoid, a chemical compound produced by cannabis,” according to the Congressional Research Service. “Tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs) – of which delta-9 THC is one type – are psychoactive cannabinoids that are naturally contained in cannabis or synthetically created in a lab. Other cannabinoids (like cannabidiol, or CBD) are not psychoactive.”
Some say the use of such products might need more scrutiny.
According to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report, “The potential harms of cannabis use include increased risk of car collisions, development of schizophrenia or psychosis, respiratory symptoms including chronic bronchitis and lower birthweight from prenatal exposure.”
In a news release about the report, one official stated, “A federal public education campaign targeting those most at risk of the negative impacts of cannabis – kids, teens, pregnant people, and those over 65 – would go a long way toward supporting public health.”
State laws are another matter. On Oct. 27, N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that he and a bipartisan group of 38 attorneys general were asking Congress “to clarify the definition of ‘hemp’ to prevent the continued sale of unregulated, intoxicating THC products, especially to children.”
McPherson, for his part, said he embraces regulation and wants to make his products as safe as possible.
“I want to have the hard conversations to say, ‘What are the right legislative guidelines that we need in place?’” he said. “I’ve got a 15-year-old daughter. I don’t want her to be able to buy these drinks.”
Grind with Gratitude comes in three doses: 2 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg – with 10 mg being the biggest seller.
Because cannabis oils don’t mix well with water, a surfactant, which is a compound that prevents separation, is used. Pressurization and ultrasonic waves break oil droplets into tiny particles that integrate into beverages.
McPherson said his company developed Grind with Gratitude in association with Vertosa, a California company founded by an emulsion chemist. Grind with Gratitude also uses an outside lab to conduct additional testing before the product reaches consumers.
Even so, “If you’re not familiar with (these types of drinks), you don’t want to just approach it as if it is alcohol, because it does have different effects on different people, and there’s no general guidance such as, ‘If you’re this size or this weight, you should have this much,” McPherson said. “We encourage everyone to go low and slow and enjoy the drinks responsibly.”
