Hemp THC drinks to be served at Chicago music festival Lollapalooza – for now

Continuing a trend that’s seeing hemp THC beverages appear at mainstream entertainment venues and retailers despite looming state and federal restrictions, the Lollapalooza music festival opened with on-site THC drink sales in Chicago on Thursday.

Daily attendance at the festival is expected to exceed 100,000 people, according to a news release. But the exposure to hemp-derived THC products could be short-lived.

Lollapalooza is at least the third major mainstream entertainment venue in Chicago to allow for hemp-derived THC beverage sales, after the United Center arena and the Navy Pier tourist attraction.

Can mainstream stores and music festivals sell hemp THC beverages?

However, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker last month signed into law new intoxicating hemp product restrictions.

While the new rules mean most hemp THC products can’t be sold outside of regulated cannabis retailers, it’s still not clear how authorities will regulate popular low-dose hemp beverages.

As MJBizDaily reported at the time, the law leaves unclear the fate of hemp-derived THC beverages, such as the drinks sold at the pier and the United Center – the latter of which serves the products only at concerts and not professional sporting events.

In Illinois, hemp-derived THC beverages are available at liquor stores, grocery stores and at Target.

The fate of those markets also hinges on a looming federal ban on intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, set to take effect in November.

The White House has asked Congress to revisit the ban, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November.

Bipartisan lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced bills that would allow hemp-derived products to survive, but so far none have advanced to a hearing.

Is cannabis MSO Green Thumb Industries affiliated with hemp company Rythm?

For now, Lollapalooza will offer beverages from Chicago-based Rythm, a hemp-based company affiliated with locally headquartered marijuana multistate operator Green Thumb Industries.

Concession stands and bars at Lollapalooza will sell 12-ounce cans of Rythm’s Señorita margaritas with 5 milligrams of THC in each can, according to a release.

Green Thumb and Rythm are affiliated, with Ben Kovler serving as the chairman of both companies, and both are publicly traded.

But unlike OTC-listed GTI, which applied for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration as a medical cannabis company in May, Rythm trades on Nasdaq under the symbol RYM.