As alcohol’s popularity declines in the United States, especially among younger adults, a pair of Virginia entrepreneurs are introducing a new way to crack open a cold one and enjoy a buzz that doesn’t involve beer, wine or liquor.
Charlottesville-based Mountain High Seltzer last year became the first legal THC-infused seltzer in Virginia. And this summer it has become the first to be distributed statewide by Virginia Beach-based Hoffman Beverage and Charlottesville-based Virginia Eagle, one of the largest Anheuser-Busch wholesalers in the country.
Founded by Joe Kuhn and led by Kuhn and Blake DeMaso, Mountain High promises drinkers a light buzz, ideal for relaxing at home or being social.
The level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, in a Mountain High is not enough to produce some of the less-appealing side effects of smoking marijuana or eating an edible, DeMaso said.
“It’s not going to make them feel, you know, wonky or paranoid or any of those things,” he said. “It’s just a really good way for people to be able to enjoy something that doesn’t have alcohol.”
In 2024, alcohol sales declined in the U.S. for the first time in three years, dropping less than 1% to $112.9 billion from $113.6 billion in 2023, according to data firm NIQ. Nearly half of all Americans said they intend to drink less alcohol in 2025, up from 41% in 2024, according to a survey conducted by sales-measuring technology firm NCSolutions. Many are swapping alcohol — which can lead to addiction, weight gain, liver damage and high blood pressure — with cannabis products, which have fewer known side effects. Legal cannabis sales in the U.S. surpassed $31.4 billion in the U.S. last year, marking a 9.14% increase over 2023, according to cannabis data firm Whitney Economics.
Mountain High cans contain 12 ounces of liquid with 2 milligrams of THC, according to tests by KCA Laboratories, a cannabis-, hemp- and food-testing operation based out of Nicholasville, Kentucky. Virginia regulations forbid more than 2 milligrams of THC per container.
“They are absolutely following the law, according to what is on their website,” JM Pedini, development director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, and executive director of the Virginia chapter of the lobbying firm, said. “But again, the regulations aren’t the same” as for medical cannabis, “so you’re just taking their word for it.”
Mountain High Seltzer, produced in Charlottesville, last year became the first legal THC-infused seltzer in Virginia. (Photo courtesy of Mountain High)
Each can of Mountain High also contains 4 milligrams of cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound in cannabis that has no psychoactive effects but is being studied for its therapeutic benefits, including pain and anxiety relief.
Medical cannabis can be sold only at licensed pharmaceutical dispensaries in Virginia. Retailers selling edibles, joints and other cannabis products are either marketing synthetic goods that skirt Virginia laws or are actively breaking those laws.
A THC-infused seltzer, however, falls under the category of edible hemp products, legally considered food in Virginia. This means the laws that regulate Mountain High are enforced by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. But as with alcoholic drinks, consumers must be 21 or older to legally consume a TCH-infused seltzer.
The department’s spokesman, Mike Wallace, pointed to its “Voluntary Registry of Compliant Edible Hemp Products,” an online list of products found to be compliant with Virginia law. Mountain High’s black cherry and lemon-lime flavors are on that list.
Pedini warned that even the 2 milligrams of THC in Mountain High cans could be intoxicating to some, particularly people who are new to cannabis-derived products.
Nassima Ait-Daoud Tiouririne, a psychiatrist and addiction specialist at the University of Virginia, agreed that for newcomers, even one Mountain High could impair coordination and thinking. And she said she worried that since THC may not take effect for 15 to 30 minutes, some people may drink multiple seltzers before realizing how high they’ve become. On the flip side, she said experienced users will feel hardly any effect, since the average joint contains 100 milligrams of cannabis.
Jordyn Barr, the director of operations at Blue Mountain, said she does not think the seltzers will ever fully replace beer or other alcoholic drinks. But on a hot day, she thinks more people may reach for a THC-infused seltzer since it’s mostly water and contains no alcohol, which is dehydrating. Another appeal, she said: The average 12-ounce beer can contains 150 calories, while Mountain Highs have 30.
“The demand has been extremely high,” Barr said. “When we were first starting, we just couldn’t even keep up.”
She said the drinks have been most popular among younger people, but DeMaso said even his 80-year-old father and his friends enjoy them.
Some people, he’s heard, have replaced their nightly glass of wine with a Mountain High to wind down before bed — high praise coming from residents of the Virginia wine country.
