New rules for Iowa’s hemp producers and retailers went into effect this past summer, setting the age limit for buying consumable hemp products at 21 and establishing the state’s first legal limits for the amount of THC allowed per serving of those products. But companies that sell drinks infused with THC are already taking advantage of a legal loophole in the regulations: the bigger the can, the higher the legal amount of THC can be.
Let’s break that down.
Recreational marijuana is illegal in Iowa, but hemp is allowed under the 2018 Farm Bill. The hemp plant contains a lower amount of THC (the stuff that gets you high) — 0.3% or less. Drinks and edibles, like gummies, can be infused with THC, and some beverage companies in Iowa experienced popularity in 2023 after offering THC-infused drinks at festivals, breweries and grocery stores. For example, Climbing Kites, based in Des Moines, offered as much as ten milligrams of THC in its most potent sparkling water variety.
That’s because, before this past July, there wasn’t a limit on how much hemp-derived THC companies could infuse their products with. The state cracked down on this over the summer while also moving to establish an age limit. Producers and retailers overwhelmingly agreed there should be an age limit, but many argued the THC potency limits were far too strict for them to continue business as usual.
As of July 1, consumable hemp products can have no more than four milligrams of THC per serving, or ten milligrams per container.
For edibles like gummies, that means the combined amount of THC per gummy inside a package cannot exceed ten milligrams. For example, the state health department — which must approve these products for them to be legally sold — lists an example of a compliant product as a five-pack of gummies at two milligrams THC per piece.
For drinks, it gets a little more complicated. After some clarification from the state, a single serving size for a THC drink has been set at 12 fluid ounces. So, a 12-fluid-ounce can of Climbing Kites can have a maximum of four milligrams of THC (that math breaks down to approximately .33 milligrams per fluid ounce), and the company has responded by rolling out new versions of its drink varieties that do just that.
But the state also says that limit goes up as the container gets larger. It lists an individual 24-fluid-ounce can containing eight milligrams THC as an example of a compliant product, as well as an individual 30-fluid-ounce can with ten milligrams THC. That’s a lot of liquid, and a lot of numbers. Are you confused yet?
But it's exactly how Cedar Rapids-based Lion Bridge Brewing Co. was able to get its latest beverage offering approved for sale. MoonDream, a THC-infused sparkling water, offers five milligrams of THC (2.5 mg per serving) in each 16-fluid-ounce can. It comes in three flavors: Citrus Berry, Strawberry Apricot and Peach Tangerine.
It's the small brewery's first-ever THC-infused drink offering, and it's the first to get a drink with more than four milligrams per can approved by the state, though it's not yet clear if other companies around the state are pursuing similar products.
“Sixteen ounces is a very accepted can format for lots of beverages — for waters, for beer, other nonalcoholic beverages," said Lion Bridge Brewing Co. owner Quinton McClain. "And so I started posing the question about, you know, can you do multiple servings at a smaller potency? And the response from the state was that, yes, you could do this.”
He said it's been exciting to find a way to offer Iowans a potency they'd enjoyed in other products prior to the new law. It's taken the brewery since the summer to develop the product and ensure it would be legal.
“There was a lot of time and energy behind the scenes confirming this, that it was OK, because obviously it was going to be something new for a lot of people," he said. "A lot of people have straight up told us that it's not legal, but we would never have ventured down this path if we felt there was any doubt.”
He says the company is working to offer the drink online, but for now it's only available for purchase to-go at their location in Cedar Rapids, as well as a number of distributors across eastern Iowa.
