Late last week the plant-touching industry received yet another strong endorsement from the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, one of the largest and most influential spirits/beer trade associations in the United States. Coming in during a week that saw two major endorsements (one from Goop and one from the State of New York), the adult-use cannabis endorsement from WSWA is the first of its kind from an alcoholic beverage association, according to the news release. The announcement comes on the heels of news from late June that the Heineken-owned Lagunitas would be releasing several versions of cannabis non-beers.

The release from the WSWA, whose members control distribution for an approx. 80% of alcohol across the country, is a ringing endorsement of adult-use cannabis, and further buries the stale notion of animus between the alcohol and cannabis industries. A notion we discussed as outdated back in April, with beer and wine companies developing rather savvy methods in adapting their equipment to suit the needs of plant-touching businesses in states such as California and Colorado.

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) announced an official policy position in favor of a state’s right to establish a legal, well-regulated, adult-use cannabis marketplace

The announcement calls for the federal government to recognize state’s rights to open regulated cannabis markets that are monitored with policies similar to what the alcohol industry has used for regulation for decades. Namely, it calls for the following:

• A minimum age of 21 for purchase, possession and use, along with penalties for providing cannabis to minors;
• Establishment of Driving Under the Influence impaired driving standards;
• Licensing of producers, processors, distributors and retailers; Policies to prevent vertical monopoly/integration;
• Hours and days of sale parity with beverage alcohol;
• Tax collection and enforcement; Measures to prevent diversion of cannabis to other states;
• Restrictions on sale/common carrier delivery;
• Labeling requirements that include potency and health requirements;
• Testing of formulas to ensure product purity and consistency;
• Advertising restrictions designed to discourage underage access and promote responsible consumption;
• Restrictions on health claims on packaging;
• Establishment of a designated agency overseeing cannabis industry regulation in each state;
• Penalties for licensee violations on par with the state’s alcohol regulations;
• and Regulations that ensure all products in market can be tracked/traced to source processor/producer.

This endorsement from the WSWA is another win in the court of public opinion for adult-use cannabis and the plant-touching industry. Importantly, it also signifies to the cannabis industry that alcohol companies are eager and willing to partner on developing products and, potentially, providing investment opportunities for the nascent cannabis industry.