The media does not stop talking about the impact of alcohol on our health. But what if this whole anti-alcohol trend was paving the way for something worse? Readers who know me know that although I am a recovered addict, I do not belong in the anti-drug league. However, I don’t like at all the idea that drinks with THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, will take half of the alcohol business in the coming years. Especially since THC has a considerable effect on the brains of our kids.
And yet, that is just what is happening. A study conducted by Brightfield Group (BDSA), which is basically one of the main sources in analyzing the cannabis market, showed that in states where cannabis is already legal, more than half of alcohol consumers have also legalized it. added to your diet. What’s more, it is being observed that, when people want to relax after a stressful day at work, they skip the classic straw because they prefer a drink with THC.
Of course, the alcohol industry has not been slow to make a move. For example, Constellation Brands, the giant behind brands like Corona and Modelo, has already invested $4 billion in THC-infused drinks. It is clear that they are not willing to miss the party. Forecasts indicate that, for a time, both markets will coexist, but the war to capture the consumer seeking to relax with the substance has already begun, and it seems that cannabis has the upper hand.
But what happens when the consumer is a teenager? Take, for example, a study recently published in the journal Naturewhich indicates that cannabis use, including THC-containing beverages, has direct effects on brain connectivity: “Adolescence is a critical stage for brain development, and THC consumption during this phase can have detrimental effects on brain connectivity and executive control.” This means, neither more nor less, that in full development, our children’s ability to make decisions or evaluate risks versus benefits could worsen. I think I’m not wrong when I say that anyone who lives with a teenager experiences firsthand that executive control is not exactly their strong point.
Without trying to convince skeptics, I want to mention two more studies. The first was published in 2021 in the magazine JAMA Psychiatryin which a sample of more than 1,000 participants was evaluated from adolescence to adulthood, to measure changes in cortical thickness and cognitive functions such as memory and decision making. The authors concluded by indicating that “repeated cannabis use in adolescence is associated with altered development of the cerebral cortex, particularly in areas linked to memory and decision making.” And the second is a systematic review from 2019 where it was already shown that, although some effects are reversed over time, adolescents have a lower capacity for cognitive recovery: “Cognitive deficits induced by cannabis during adolescence can persist even after a month of abstinence, suggesting that the adolescent brain may suffer longer-lasting alterations.”
Even David Nutt, a well-known neuropsychopharmacologist and advocate of medical cannabis, warns about the risks of THC in young people. In his work Cannabis: Why so much controversy?the author unapologetically points out that “THC consumption in young people can not only trigger mental health problems, but also increases the likelihood of dependence and long-term cognitive problems.”
The market for THC drinks is booming
If we look at the numbers from the last two years, we will see how the global market for THC drinks has grown dramatically. According to a report from FortuneBusiness Insights, the beverage industry was worth $2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $117 billion by 2032. This represents a truly unprecedented annual growth rate for a relatively new market. . On the other hand, we have the data from the BDSA itself, where we can see that sales of drinks with THC in the United States grew by 8% between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024, which translates into a whopping 54 million dollars in sales in that period alone. So, although it is still a small percentage of the total cannabis market, the pace of growth is very significant.
In our country, the situation is different and, although we do not know how long we will be able to contain the industry, for the moment the issue is regulated by Law 17/1967 on Narcotic Drugs, which prohibits both the use and marketing of products with THC for recreational purposes. Although the medicinal use of cannabis was given the green light in 2022 under strict conditions, the recreational use of THC remains illegal. This is reflected in the Citizen Security Law 4/2015, which, among other things, prohibits the consumption and possession of products with more than 0.2% THC in public spaces. So don’t worry because, at the moment, the THC beverage industry does not seem to have space in the Spanish market.
Seeing how things are going in other countries, it becomes clear that the arrival of this type of beverage will pose a significant challenge, especially in terms of public health. Because, on the one hand, many perceive these drinks as a safer option than alcohol, but on the other, as we have seen, the risks for adolescents and young people who are still in crucial phases of brain development are a fact.
As always, when we talk about drugs, the objectives should not be prohibition so much as finding a balance between regulation and education. As David Nutt says: “Regulation is the key to protecting future generations from the adverse effects of cannabis, without denying its potential benefits in other contexts.”