The Colorado Hemp Beverage Coalition quietly arrived 6 months back and they had their official launch party in the last couple of weeks.
Leading lawyer and consultant Brian Vicente is playing a key part in bringing Colorado up to speed with other states and hopes to get some legislation through the state house in the January session.
We discuss what he hopes for in Colorado, how the cannabis / hemp beverage sector is growing nationally, what sort of regulations are desirable and more.
As always the key is generating a commonsense approach that builds the sector and protects the consumer.
Here’s the press release
With THC beverages quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in cannabis and beverage, Colorado is positioning itself at the center of this emerging category.
This month, Vicente LLP and leading brands including Wana, Cycling Frog, Keef, Brez, Fable, Sleeping Giant Brewing, and Vertosa launched the Colorado Hemp Beverage Coalition to drive responsible policy reform for hemp-derived THC drinks.
Why this matters for the industry:
- Retail + On-Premise Sales: The Coalition is advocating for clear legal pathways to sell THC beverages not only in retail, but also in bars, restaurants, and venues.
- Policy Roadmap: Members are building a two-year legislative roadmap to modernize state law and create revenue-generating, consumer-safe opportunities for hemp beverage businesses.
- Industry Voice: The Coalition has already hosted well-attended policy briefings with lawmakers, regulators, and operators. Its next event, the Hemp Beverage Policy & Industry Forum, is set for September 30 in Denver.
With low-dose, fast-acting cannabis drinks appealing to health-conscious and “sober curious” consumers, Colorado is positioned to become the national testbed for cannabis beverage regulation—similar to its role in cannabis legalization more than a decade ago.
More info about their launch at
Vicente LLP Founding Partner Brian Vicente has been helping marijuana businesses obtain state and local licenses since the inception of the regulated cannabis industry — an industry he has played a significant role in shaping. He has also advised national, state, and local government officials in the development of regulated cannabis markets across the country and around the world, including in Uruguay, the first country in the world to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. In late 2018, newly elected Colorado Gov. Jared Polis selected Brian to serve as a member of his gubernatorial transition team, where he sat on the Economic Development and Labor Committee.
Brian was a lead drafter of Colorado’s historic legalization initiative, Amendment 64, and he co-directed the successful campaign in support of it. He also served as chair of the Committee for Responsible Regulation, which coordinated the successful campaign to implement statewide excise and sales taxes on adult-use marijuana in Colorado. Previously, Brian served as executive director of Sensible Colorado, a leading nonprofit organization advocating for medical marijuana patients and providers in Colorado. During this time, he played an integral role in litigation that opened the door for medical cannabis dispensaries to open in the state, as well as the legislative process that resulted in Colorado becoming the first state to establish a regulated system of medical cannabis production and distribution.
Since 2020, Chambers and Partners USA has ranked Brian as one of the top cannabis attorneys in the nation. Additionally, he was recognized by Best Lawyers© from 2021-2026, named a “Cannabis Law Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal in 2018, and has been included in 5280 magazine’s list of “Denver’s Top Lawyers” every year since 2015. Adding to his impressive list of recognitions, in 2022 he was listed as one of High Times’ “Top 100 Influential People in Cannabis” and was recognized as one of Law360’s Cannabis MVPs of 2022. Brian has conducted more than 1,000 interviews regarding marijuana policy for national, state, and local media outlets, and he was recognized by The Guardian as “the (cannabis) industry’s de facto spokesman.”
Brian currently serves as treasurer of the Marijuana Policy Project and president of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, a purpose-driven nonprofit organization he helped found in 2021. In 2010, Brian was elected as the first board chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association, which now represents nearly 2,000 member businesses and tens of thousands of cannabis professionals. He is also a member of the DanceSafe Advisory Council, and previously served on the boards of Sensible Colorado, the Harm Reduction Action Center, and the SAFER Voter Education Fund.
Brian received a full merit scholarship to attend the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, during which time he clerked for outspoken social critic, Senior U.S. District Judge John L. Kane.
Sean Hocking
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