{"id":1133,"date":"2025-05-18T10:41:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/?p=1133"},"modified":"2025-05-18T10:41:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:41:35","slug":"young-people-arent-drinking-alcohol-instead-theyre-sipping-cans-of-thc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/?p=1133","title":{"rendered":"Young people aren\u2019t drinking alcohol \u2014 instead, they\u2019re sipping cans of THC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-10wlkbs-0\" data-component=\"SupportNSCNative\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<aside class=\"sc-hez36s-0 cGmNxG\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-1 iqSitv\">\n<h3 data-testid=\"support-nsc-title\" class=\"sc-hez36s-2 dlmCG\">Your support helps us to tell the story<\/h3>\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-8 igdyzJ\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-13 cPkZJS\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-0 fGzMFb sc-hez36s-16 fJelbS\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-6 fiXggt\">\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content-container\" class=\"sc-aja53j-5 eSVQSf\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content\" class=\"sc-aja53j-4 cDGSNR\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"support-nsc-collapsed-content-tablet\" class=\"sc-hez36s-7 kxbAkl\">\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 kGYWZt\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 kGYWZt\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 kGYWZt\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 eXohla\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"sc-aja53j-1 hHATii sc-aja53j-7 jikgMc\"><span data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-dropdown-tablet\" class=\"sc-aja53j-3 gFogGN\"><span data-action-type=\"Read more\" class=\"sc-aja53j-2 frlkrE\">Read more<\/span><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 gggykT sc-culv3z-0 jLhHRc sc-a5wy94-0 lbKISR\"><use href=\"#ee6613da15642019\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"big-letter\">D<\/span>inner and drinks might be the go-to activity for a night out with the girls, but Gen Z is removing alcohol from the equation. <\/p>\n<p>Instead of ending a long day with a glass of wine, 26-year-old Bre Giglio pulls out her favorite THC drink, which contains a cannabis compound and gives her a soothing buzz. \u201cWe don\u2019t have alcohol in our house,\u201d she told <em>The Independent<\/em>. \u201cNot because we\u2019re sober or anything. Just because we prefer THC beverages.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Research over the years how shown that young people are decreasing their alcohol intake. In a 2023 survey from Gallup 62 percent of adults, between the ages of 18 and 34, said they drank alcohol, which is a 10 percent decrease from how many people drank two decades ago. A 2024 survey by LendingTree also found that 55 percent of Gen Zers regretted spending so much money on alcohol. <\/p>\n<p>As young people pour less booze in their cups, they are instead choosing other options, from non-alcoholic beers and ap\u00e9ritifs to healthy, prebiotic sodas like Poppi and Ollipop, and THC drinks. Although the strength depends on the brand, you can view THC-infused drinks like mild weed edibles. Just like gummies, these drinks are made with hemp-derived THC, which is THC extracted from hemp plants. And like alcohol, you have to be 21 or over to buy them. <\/p>\n<p>Giglio enjoys drinking Nowadays, which is marketed as the \u201cperfect substitute for your everyday cocktail.\u201d Bottles of the N\/A spirit, ideal for mixing with lemonade or orange juice, are sold in different strengths, with either two, five, or ten milligrams per serving. <\/p>\n<p>Each of the THC drinks that Gigilo has contains five to 10 milligrams of THC, which she says is just the right amount for her. She has about five drinks a week, each at the end of the night. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-482ou5-2 hCNBSR sc-482ou5-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 hXrpsW\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-482ou5-0 fsyVZu\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/31\/gigli-drinks.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/31\/gigli-drinks.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;trim=1274%2C0%2C1274%2C0&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/31\/gigli-drinks.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;trim=1274%2C0%2C1274%2C0&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Gigli beverages in Tatum Ross\u2019s fridge\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 QHifS inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-0 fsbheq inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-164829\"><span class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-1 jEeRhv\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 kBlcBC kIlksO\">Gigli beverages in Tatum Ross\u2019s fridge<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 hAhJPR\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Tatum Ross<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another non-alcoholic cocktail option is from Gigli, which sells cans with 10 milligrams of THC each, in flavors like blueberry lemonade and raspberry ginger. <\/p>\n<p>Gigli is Tatum Ross\u2019s, 23, go-to drink, and she enjoys them a few times a week as an alternative to alcohol. She says she still feels sharp as a tack after drinking them and that the beverages have improved her quality of sleep and stress levels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt opens up space for creativity and deeper thoughts, which alcohol just doesn\u2019t do for me,\u201d she explained. \u201cAlcohol tends to cloud things and sometimes leads to choices I wouldn\u2019t make sober. THC feels intentional \u2014 it enhances rather than numbs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bre Giglio did not start drinking THC beverages in order to cut back her alcohol intake \u2014 that was just an added benefit. Instead, she drinks them because they help her feel relaxed and reduce her anxiety. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-482ou5-2 hCNBSR sc-482ou5-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 hXrpsW\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-482ou5-0 AvGOT\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/51\/bre-giglio.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/51\/bre-giglio.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;trim=1520%2C0%2C1520%2C0&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/51\/bre-giglio.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;trim=1520%2C0%2C1520%2C0&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Bre Giglio says THC drinks have replaced alcohol in her house\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 QHifS inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-0 fsbheq inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-164830\"><span class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-1 jEeRhv\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 kBlcBC kIlksO\">Bre Giglio says THC drinks have replaced alcohol in her house<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 hAhJPR\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Bre Giglio<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c\u200aI think there&#8217;s very much alcohol ingrained in our culture, and if anything, people look at you weird if you say you don&#8217;t drink or sober,\u201d she said. \u201cVersus, there are some people who are very weird if you drink the THC drinks. But that can actually be a much better alternative. So I hope that people just realize how normalized it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ross agrees that her peers are experimenting with THC drinks and partially cutting out alcohol as a result. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of us have fully swapped, others are just dabbling. But it\u2019s definitely on people\u2019s radar more now than it was even a year ago,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that my generation is really leaning into overall health and wellness, something that I am incredibly passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lara Gould, 32, cut back on drinking a couple of years ago, after realizing that alcohol didn\u2019t make her a happier person. As she slowly started leaning towards cannabis, the THC-infused drinks at her local Total Wine store quickly caught her eye. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-482ou5-2 hCNBSR sc-482ou5-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 hXrpsW\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-482ou5-0 ghdQLG\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/21\/tatum-ross.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/21\/tatum-ross.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2025\/05\/16\/14\/21\/tatum-ross.jpeg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Tatum Ross says her THC drinks \u2018open up space for creativity and deeper thoughts\u2019\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 QHifS inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-0 fsbheq inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-164831\"><span class=\"sc-1uf4o3q-1 jEeRhv\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 kBlcBC kIlksO\">Tatum Ross says her THC drinks \u2018open up space for creativity and deeper thoughts\u2019<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 hAhJPR\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Tatum Ross<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Although Gould hasn\u2019t stopped having alcohol entirely, she brings her THC drinks to dinner parties, which wasn\u2019t an easy task at first, because of the assumptions made about \u201cstoners.\u201d She specifically hits back at how people who ingest THC have been compared to stoner stereotypes like Shaggy from <em>Scooby-Doo<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not a pothead. It\u2019s about showing the beverages to my friends, who didn\u2019t know about THC in the way I do,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was weird for them at first when they were all drinking ros\u00e9 and I was showing up with my own drinks. But a lot of them have been slowly open to learning.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Gould also likes these drinks because they help her feel relaxed \u2014 even if she is quick to note she doesn\u2019t use them as a coping tool. \u201cI would 100 times out of 10 choose enjoying a THC-infused beverage in my favorite activities over an alcoholic beverage any day of the week,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone can react to THC differently, and you shouldn\u2019t go straight into having a drink with 10 milligrams right off the bat. It\u2019s just like alcohol in that regard, where knowing how much wine or beer you can handle may help avoid the dreaded hangover the following day. The women interviewed here all gave themselves some grace when ingesting THC for the first time, before gradually finding their individual sweet spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Dinner and drinks might be the go-to activity for a night out with the girls, but Gen Z is removing alcohol from the equation. Instead of ending a long day with a glass of wine, 26-year-old Bre Giglio pulls out her favorite THC drink, which contains a cannabis compound and gives her a soothing buzz. \u201cWe don\u2019t have alcohol in our house,\u201d she told The Independent. \u201cNot because we\u2019re sober or anything. Just because we prefer THC beverages.\u201d Research over the years how shown that young people are decreasing their alcohol intake. In a 2023 survey from Gallup 62 percent of adults, between the ages of 18 and 34, said they drank alcohol, which is a 10 percent decrease from how many people drank two decades ago. A 2024 survey by LendingTree also found that 55 percent of Gen Zers regretted spending so much money on alcohol. As young people pour less booze in their cups, they are instead choosing other options, from non-alcoholic beers and ap\u00e9ritifs to healthy, prebiotic sodas like Poppi and Ollipop, and THC drinks. Although th&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}