Nearly 1 in 6 Dry January participants will consume cannabis beverages instead
Participation in Dry January is expected to increase this year, with 56% of respondents “at least somewhat likely” to abstain for the month, according to a survey of US alcohol drinkers by CivicScience. That’s up from 52% in 2024 and 54% in 2025.
Asked if they planned to substitute any beverages for alcohol for the month, it will come as no surprise that 17% said they’d opt for mocktails and 17% also said they’d opt for non-alcoholic beer. What may be less expected is that just as many—again, 17%—said they’d be consuming cannabis beverages (or other forms of cannabis) in lieu of booze.
Cannabis retailers are toasting the heightened business that they attribute to Dry January’s popularity:
Leaflink, a software platform that serves the cannabis industry, told Retail Brew that January cannabis beverage sales among its retail partners were up 5.4% YoY in 2025, following even bigger YoY increases for the month in 2024 (7.4%), and 2023 (24.8%).
Levia, a Massachusetts-based cannabis beverage brand, told Retail Brew that it consistently sees a 30% lift in sales during January.
Elevated Roots, a chain of dispensaries in Massachusetts, reportedthat sales of cannabis beverages rose 27% in January of 2025 over the previous January.
James Stephens, co-founder of Sinful, a 6-year-old Montana-based cannabis beverage brand, told The Drinks Business that sales in January have had an average uptick of 18% over other months.
“Dry January can be dry with THC, because the impact and health concerns around cannabis are radically different from alcohol,” Stephens said. “THC beverages offer the social ritual and mild intoxication that people enjoy about drinking, without the toxic metabolic burden alcohol creates.”
Drinking outside the box: With the latest Dry January underway, cannabis beverage brands are promoting themselves as an alcohol alternative that promises something you can’t get from a Shirley Temple: a buzz.
