WhistlePig’s product isn’t to be confused with THC-laced beverages like Cann, Wunder, Mary Jones and Keef, which are sold only at dispensaries.
Weed vs. booze
Analysts at financial services firm TD Cowen call cannabis a “formidable competitor” to booze, though the legal weed industry brings in a fraction of the sales of the alcohol segment (roughly $33 billion versus $250 billion).
But signs of the cannabis surge are widespread, with the potent combo of medical and adult-use weed sales in states like Colorado, Washington, Illinois and Michigan outpacing liquor in generating tax revenue in recent fiscal years, per Cowen.
The data, in a study optimistically called Cannabis Beats Booze, also includes this noteworthy tidbit: Two-thirds of cannabis users say they have cut back on drinking.
The two worlds will merge at some future date, with alcohol conglomerates already exploring ways to break into the cannabis industry. (The same is true for Big Tobacco.) But any real movement isn’t expected until after federal legalization.
Per a Gallup poll from August, Americans consider weed less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products, and a Morning Consult survey released in June had similar findings (participants thought cannabis was “significantly less dangerous” and less addictive than cigarettes, alcohol, technology and opioids.)
Wink wink
WhistlePig’s stunts for Dry January, in keeping with its irreverent year-round personality, have included a CBD-centric product and a partnership with Sunkist Growers for an “Orange You Glad It’s Dry January” promo.
Culinary experts at the intersection of weed, food and beverage are closely watching the WhistlePig experiment, which gives proceeds to hospitality nonprofit Turning Tables. (The brand is “puff-puff-passing” 100% of the sales to bartenders, per its release.)
