Total Wine & More has launched a range of drinks enriched with the powerful psychoactive substance from cannabis, THC.
The company – which has 260 stores nationwide – is the first major US retailer to start selling the drinks, which contain the part of the cannabis plant that makes you feel high, THC or tetrahydrocannabinol.
The drinks have launched in three stores in Minnesota, in Burnsville, Chatassen and Minnetonka, but there may be plans to roll out nationwide.
Some of the liquor brands sold promote products on their websites that contain 50 mg of THC – more than you’ll find in some joints – and experts warn that the substance can have even more powerful psychological effects when ingested.
Campaigners have warned the drinks are ‘dangerous and addictive’ and could increase the risk of catastrophic car crashes involving teenagers.
Total Wine & More has launched a line of THC-infused drinks in three stores in Minnesota (pictured), a move being celebrated by legalization advocates.
“In states where THC drugs are already ‘legal,’ there have been more cases of drivers testing positive for THC in fatal traffic accidents and a higher number of teens driving under the influence of THC,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, former drug policy officer at the White House. advisor and chairman of Smart approaches to marijuana (SAM) told DailyMail.com.
“As the alcohol industry expands into a new area of for-profit addiction, this will only get worse.
“While Big Marijuana, Big Alcohol and their Wall Street investors may see THC drinks as a way to rake in more profits, the public will pay a high price and millions of Americans will experience pain and heartbreak.”
In August, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that the USDA was considering updating its alcohol advisory to match Canada’s, advising Americans to drink just two drinks per week.
Still, recreational marijuana use is legal in 24 states, with no federal age requirement to purchase THC-infused beverages.
However, many states have laws that require this customers are over 21.
However, young people can often still access the drinks if an older friend or family member buys them for them.
According to the CDC, about 37 percent of high school students report marijuana use.
As legalization has spread, cannabis-infused mocktails, seltzers and non-alcoholic wines have begun to populate the market, marketed as a healthier high, with claims of being hangover-free and without the calories of alcohol.
They are not the same as CBD-infused drinks that contain these small doses of cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating substance found in marijuana and hemp, which has been available in the United States since 2010.
Common brands are Cann and Keef.
Some research shows that (CBD) can make you feel more relaxed and can affect mood and appetite.
Marijuana drinks, on the other hand, are made with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
There is no standard dose of THC in cannabis-infused drinks, and the amount varies by product and manufacturer.
Some THC drinks marketed as “low dose” contain between 2 and 4 mg of THC per 8-ounce container, while other products can contain up to 200 mg of THC per bottle.
Cantrip’s drinks, now sold at Total Wines, contain 25 mg of THC per can. A typical joint contains between 40 and 200 mg of THC.
Total Wine and More, which has 260 superstores in the US, will now offer a selection of drinks containing THC – the psychoactive component in cannabis
Doctors worry that the high from these drinks can be unpredictable, and possibly more intense than that of a joint.
Although no research has been done on THC drinks, experts believe they are processed by the body in a similar way to edibles like cannabis gummies.
When you smoke cannabis, THC is absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to the brain within minutes. But when ingested, the chemical is first processed by the liver, where it triggers the production of another substance that has five times stronger effects on the brain.
THC acts on cannabinoid receptors and is thought to increase the risk of psychosis by disrupting the normal functioning of the part of the brain that processes information and dictates behavior.
Dr. James MacKillop, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University, previously said The New York Times that the effects of THC drinks need to be studied more broadly.