Willie Nelson Calls on Congress to ‘Stop the Foolishness’ Over Hemp Ban

Forrest Dein is already looking beyond next week’s election. For the serial entrepreneur, there’s an even more consequential date on the political calendar five weeks later: December 11.

That’s when the federal ban, which will outlaw the vast majority of hemp-derived THC products in the United States, is scheduled to go into effect, effectively criminalizing any product with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container and synthetic cannabinoids. For Dein, who has turned THC beverages infused with five and 10 milligrams of THC into a rapidly growing business, that date poses an existential problem.

Dein, who co-founded kombucha and canned cocktail brand JuneShine in 2018, teamed up with country music legend Willie Nelson to launch his eponymous THC beverage brand Willie’s Remedy+ as a joint venture with JuneShine last year. The startup started selling its social tonics direct-to-consumer, taking advantage of Nelson’s vast email list built up over decades of performing before expanding into major retailers, including Total Wine and Lowes Food. In less than two years, it has taken off with a class of consumers long ignored by the emerging ready-to-drink category: Boomers.

Monthly sales have reached $20 million, propelling Willie’s Remedy+ to a $240 million run rate and the number-one spot as the best-selling brand in the category, according to the latest Nielsen data. That level of growth has surprised even Dein, who says much of that velocity has come from retail sales fueled by the brand’s “DTC slingshot.”