Molson Coors to launch cannabis drinks next year

Beer giant Molson Coors will be early out of the gates with its line of cannabis-infused drinks when cannabis edibles are made legal in Canada next year.

As reported by Bloomberg, Molson Coors plans to “secure a meaningful share” of the lucrative cannabis drinks market in Canada next year.

“We will be in a ready to go position and one of the first on the playing field as the market opens up,” CEO Mark R. Hunter told Bloomberg.

“We decided as a business that we didn’t want to be a spectator as this new market opened up – we clearly wanted to be a participant,” he added.

Recreational cannabis products like pre-rolled joints were legalised in Canada on 17 October, but edibles won’t be made legal until next year.

Hunter told Bloomberg that the cannabis market could be worth up to US$10 billion, with around 25% of its value coming from cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic drinks.

In early October Molson Coors launched Truss in collaboration with Hexo Corp, which will develop alcohol free cannabis-laced drinks for the Canadian market.

The company is currently in the research phase and will reveal details of the drinks it is developing early next year.