Key takeaways:
- Clinical studies are now confirming that THC directly alters appetite, food reward and eating behaviour through the body’s endocannabinoid system.
- Cannabis snacks and beverages are rapidly moving into mainstream retail as younger consumers cut back on alcohol and seek alternative wellness products.
- New US hemp regulations could dramatically reshape the THC edibles market despite booming consumer demand and continued product innovation.
The image most people still associate with cannabis snacking is probably somebody eating cold pizza straight from the box while hunting through kitchen cupboards for crisps and biscuits. But the commercial reality in 2026 looks very different.
THC snacks and beverages are turning into one of the food industry’s strangest and fastest-growing crossover categories. Cannabis drinks are edging into alcohol retail; gummies are being marketed like premium confectionery; peanut butter cups now come infused with cannabinoids. Even coffee syrup is getting dosed with THC.
Cannabis is landing in exactly the categories where consumer behaviour is already shifting fastest. Younger shoppers are drinking less, wellness culture continues to reshape social occasions and retailers are scrambling for growth. Datassential found nearly 40% of alcohol drinkers also consume cannabis, CBD or THC products, while more than 60% say it changes how often they drink. Meanwhile, beer and cider sales dropped 3.3% in 2025, spirits fell 4.1% and wine declined 6.1%.
Retailers including Target in Minnesota and Total Wine have already experimented with hemp-derived THC products, while brands such as Cann, BRĒZ, Dad Grass, Stir The Pot, Mary & Jane, Clebby’s and incredibles are all trying to carve out space in what is becoming an increasingly crowded category. At the same time, scientists are finally producing clinical data showing THC genuinely alters appetite, eating behaviour and sensory perception – helping explain why the “munchies” have become both cultural cliché and serious commercial opportunity.
Munchies are real
Scientists have been studying cannabis and appetite for years, but newer clinical trials are offering some of the clearest evidence yet that THC directly changes the way people eat.
A recent pair of studies published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found cannabis significantly increased food intake in both humans and rats. In the human study, researchers at Washington State University recruited 82 adults aged between 21 and 62. Participants either vaped cannabis or a placebo before being offered snacks. Those consuming cannabis consistently ate more than the placebo group regardless of BMI, sex, dosage or how recently they had eaten.
One result surprised even the researchers themselves.
“Honestly, I would have thought chocolate, chips, Rice Krispies treats – things like that,” said Carrie Cuttler, psychology professor at Washington State University and co-lead author of the study.
Instead, beef jerky emerged as one of the most popular choices in the Washington State University research.
The mechanism centres on the body’s endocannabinoid system. THC binds to CB1 receptors found throughout the brain and digestive tract, disrupting normal appetite regulation. Researchers say the process can increase ghrelin levels while also sharpening sensory perception, particularly smell and taste.
“But THC hijacks that entire system,” said Ryan McLaughlin, associate professor in integrative physiology and neuroscience at Washington State University. “So even though you’re not necessarily hungry, THC can stimulate cannabinoid receptors in the brain and make you feel hungry.”
In practical terms, food can become more appealing, more rewarding and harder to stop eating once THC enters the picture.
Scientists believe several regions of the brain are involved, especially areas linked to pleasure, reward and food intake. They also say THC appears to affect pathways connected to food palatability, helping explain why salty, fatty and highly flavoured foods often become especially attractive after cannabis consumption.
The animal trials produced similar findings. “The same thing we saw in the humans we saw in the rats,” said Matthew Hill, behavioural neuroscience researcher at the University of Calgary. “We kind of thought it would make them want to eat carb-rich foods, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It just seemed to be any food.”
The implications stretch well beyond recreational snacking. Pharmaceutical cannabinoids, including dronabinol and nabilone, are already used clinically to stimulate appetite in patients experiencing HIV/AIDS-related wasting and chemotherapy-induced nausea.
At the same time, researchers are still wrestling with one of cannabis’s biggest contradictions. Short-term clinical trials often show increased calorie intake and modest weight gain, yet several observational studies have linked cannabis use with lower BMI and lower obesity rates.
“There’s very little documentation of the munchies phenomenon, but this paper really starts to tap into some of the mechanisms that might be responsible,” said Cuttler.
Now the category is fragmenting even further. THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin) products – sometimes nicknamed ‘diet weed’ – are increasingly marketed for appetite suppression rather than stimulation, showing how quickly cannabis is splintering into different wellness and functional-food niches.
From stoner snacks to mainstream retail
The cannabis edible market now borrows heavily from the language and aesthetics of mainstream snacks, confectionery and wellness.
Gummies dominate; chocolate remains huge; while peanut butter, cookies, brownies and dessert flavours appear repeatedly because brands know consumers already associate those formats with comfort and indulgence.
One of the clearest examples comes from incredibles, which recently launched Peanut Buddah Cups – milk chocolate peanut butter cups infused with 25mg hemp-derived THC and 25mg CBG. The company, which has also collaborated with Magnolia Bakery on THC chocolate bars, says it wants to bring ‘the confectionery aisle to cannabis’.
“Innovation at incredibles means paying attention to what consumers actually want: their favourite flavours, familiar treats, and doses that deliver,” said Eli Weiner, senior brand manager at incredibles.
Elsewhere, brands are increasingly trying to weave THC into routines consumers already understand.
Stir The Pot recently launched hemp-derived THC coffee syrup sachets designed to be added to coffee at home. BRĒZ markets cannabis and mushroom-infused spirits aimed at social occasions, while Cann continues pushing premium cannabis aperitifs positioned as alternatives to alcohol.
The old stoner aesthetic is fading. Rather than rebellion or intoxication, many companies now focus heavily on moderation, calmness and better-for-you socialising. The language increasingly overlaps with adaptogens, nootropics, mushrooms and ‘calm focus’ ingredients such as L-theanine.
For retailers facing flat or declining growth elsewhere, the category is difficult to ignore.
But it also comes with mounting scrutiny. Copycat cannabis snacks resembling brands such as Doritos and Cheetos continue drawing criticism from regulators and health experts concerned about accidental consumption by children.
At the same time, operators face enormous uncertainty around payment systems, banking and interstate distribution.
Ben Starmer, founder of Dad Grass, believes the industry needs workable regulation rather than blanket bans. “It’s encouraging to see movement toward a more defined regulatory path for hemp-derived products,” he said.
But he also warned that even where states permit THC products, many of the systems supporting modern retail still operate according to federal rules. “The fastest-growing channels for us – grocery, convenience, and liquor – rely on national infrastructure like banking, payments, and multi-state distribution.”
That tension is rapidly becoming one of the defining issues facing the cannabis food and beverage market.
The looming regulatory fight
Ironically, much of today’s THC edible market exists because lawmakers never intended the 2018 Farm Bill to create it in the first place.
The legislation legalised hemp containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. Crucially, however, it focused specifically on delta-9 THC rather than total psychoactive cannabinoids. That distinction allowed manufacturers to create gummies, drinks and edibles capable of producing intoxicating effects while technically remaining compliant under federal law.
What followed was an explosion of products sitting in a legal and regulatory grey zone. Hemp-derived THC quickly evolved into a $28bn industry supporting more than 300,000 jobs across cultivation, manufacturing, retail and logistics. THC beverages alone surpassed $1bn in sales last year.
Now, however, the market faces potentially dramatic change. In November 2025, Congress approved changes redefining hemp to include total THC concentration rather than only delta-9 THC. The revised rules also cap hemp-derived cannabinoid products at 0.4mg THC per container when the legislation takes effect in November 2026.
Industry groups warn the move could wipe out most existing hemp-derived edible products currently on shelves.
Despite the looming threat, companies continue expanding while lobbying for compromise solutions. Senators Rand Paul, Amy Klobuchar and Joni Ernst introduced the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act on 16 April 2026, which would allow states to opt out of the federal ban if they enforce age restrictions and prohibit synthetic cannabinoids.
For now, the sector remains stuck in limbo. Retailers are still testing THC products. Beverage companies are still launching new formats. And consumers, for the most part, are still buying them.
Cannabis snacking is no longer sitting on the fringes of food culture. It’s influencing product development, beverage innovation and consumer behaviour in real time. The industry is already lighting up whether regulators like it or not. So the question now is: who’s rolling with it?
Studies:
Catherine Hume, Carrie Cuttler, Samantha L. Baglot. Cannabis produces acute hyperphagia in humans and rodents via increased reward valuation for, and motivation to, acquire food. PNAS, December 24, 2025, 122 (52) e2518863122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2518863122
Reboussin BA, Wagoner KG, Sutfin EL, Suerken C, et al. Trends in marijuana edible consumption and perceptions of harm in a cohort of young adults. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Dec 1;205:107660. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107660. Epub 2019 Oct 23. PMID: 31704375; PMCID: PMC7008857.
