Tilray, AB InBev to launch CBD drinks in late 2019, THC drinks need more time

A joint venture between B.C. cannabis company Tilray Inc. and the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev plans to have CBD-infused drinks on the Canadian market as early as December, but says it needs more time to develop beverages containing THC.

Fluent Beverage Company’s chief executive Jorn Socquet says that through the two companies’ research partnership, it has determined how to formulate beverages containing cannabidiol, the nonintoxciating compound also known as CBD, in a way that keeps the active ingredients stable and potent over the lifecycle of the product.

However, he said, Toronto-based Fluent has not yet been able to figure out a formulation for tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound found in cannabis that produces a high, that keeps the active ingredient’s potency from degrading over time and they’re “not going to rush it.”

The impending beverages launch comes after the parent company of Labatt Breweries of Canada and Nanaimo, B.C.-based Tilray announced a deal last December to research and develop non-alcoholic beverages containing CBD and THC.

Socquet says Fluent aims to launch its CBD-infused products in Canada once next-generation pot products such as beverages are legalized and sales are permitted, which is in mid-December at the earliest.

He would not give too many specifics about the pot-infused CBD beverages, but said they will be sparkling, slightly sweet, translucent and won’t look nor taste like beer because research shows consumers don’t want that.