Two days before Illinois reclassifies low-dose THC beverages as cannabis, the CEO of the country's largest wine and spirits retailer is calling it prohibition — and asking the state to regulate the drinks like alcohol instead.
Illinois is "putting communities at risk with prohibition of low-dose THC beverages," Total Wine & More CEO Ryan Ross said Monday, two days before the state's new hemp law takes effect and a month before most federal restrictions land.
On November 12, the Illinois Hemp Act reclassifies any consumable product with more than 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC — including THCA, plus other cannabinoids the statute covers for their similar or marketed effects — as cannabis, sellable only in licensed dispensaries. Many of the low-dose hemp drinks sold today at grocery stores, liquor stores, gas stations and arenas are unlikely to meet the new standard: products over the limit, or failing the law's other requirements, will no longer qualify as hemp at all. Qualifying products that meet the requirements can still be sold through ordinary retail.
What the $50 million actually counts
The figure in Ross's warning is bigger than his own company. Total Wine estimates that the annual retail value of low-dose THC beverage sales across Illinois exceeds $50 million — a company estimate, spread across roughly 1,000 locations statewide, a list Total Wine shares with Target, Circle K, Binny's, the United Center and Navy Pier.
Total Wine put the national market for low-dose THC beverages at $289 million, and cited the Brewer's Guild in saying approximately 70% of Illinois breweries either make these beverages or would like to produce them. The company also said shelves are being emptied as shoppers stock up ahead of Thursday — its own characterization of the final days of legal retail sale.
"Our customers buying these beverages are veterans, seniors, soccer moms and busy parents," Ross said. "They are responsible adults who deserve trusted access to these products."
The ask: regulate them like beer
Ross is not asking Illinois to leave the drinks alone. He is asking the state — and Congress — to regulate them: age-gated sales, mandatory testing, potency limits, and drinks made only from U.S.-grown hemp and naturally occurring delta-9 THC, sold through the same structure alcohol uses.
"America already has a solution," Ross said. "For nearly 100 years, the three-tier system used for alcoholic beverages has enabled safe sales of beer, wine and spirits. It's time to apply that same framework to low-dose THC beverages."
The statement does not ask Illinois to delay Thursday's effective date. Its argument is that a regulated retail framework should replace the ban outright — and it directs readers to a campaign page urging them to contact their representatives.
A deadline with a courtroom attached
Ross's statement does not mention the separate federal lawsuit challenging the same law. The Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association and five businesses have sued to block the Hemp Act, with the association saying it represents about 250 companies. News reports describe an agreement by the state not to enforce the law against the named plaintiffs and the businesses the association represents until a November 19 hearing — an agreement, not a court-ordered statewide injunction. Total Wine is not identified among the named plaintiffs, and whether the reported agreement covers it has not been established.
The timing Ross chose highlights a real difference between the state and federal timelines. Illinois begins enforcing its new product requirements on November 12. Most corresponding federal restrictions, including the 0.4 mg finished-product cap, take effect December 11 — though a separate federal exclusion, for cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by the plant, lands the same day as Illinois' law. For products that remain federally classified as hemp but exceed Illinois' new limits, the state restriction arrives about a month before the comparable federal cap.
Sources
- Total Wine & More. “Illinois is putting communities at risk with prohibition of low-dose THC beverages a month before the federal deadline, says Total Wine & More CEO Ryan Ross.” PR Newswire, November 9, 2026. Link
- Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association et al. v. Raoul et al., No. 1:26-cv-13799 (N.D. Ill.), complaint filed November 5, 2026.
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- Total Wine & More. "Illinois is putting communities at risk with prohibition of low-dose THC beverages a month before the federal deadline, says Total Wine & More CEO Ryan Ross." PR Newswire, November 9, 2026.
- Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2027-04 informational bulletin, 410 ILCS 705/65-38, October 14, 2026.
- Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association et al. v. Raoul et al., N.D. Ill. No. 1:26-cv-13799, complaint filed November 5, 2026.
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