(Courtesy CQ)

Cannabis drink maker CQ thinks it’s a personal decision, and if you think that Dry January is just about avoiding alcohol, they’re a heady alternative.

Here’s the deal…

If taking part in Dry January is more about stepping away from alcohol than it is a blanket commitment to sobriety, then CQ, a Venice Beach, California-based cannabis drinks producer, offers a wide variety of mood-enhancing beverages, made with real fruit that hit the sweet spot between fun and function.

But obviously a cannabis drink will put your head in a different place than when you consume a beer or two.

So how is drinking a cannabis beverage different from alcohol?

In spite of the undeniable growth of non-alcohol craft beer, American Craft Beer has long argued that the primary reason people drink is for mood enhancement. Alcohol is a drug, no different from cannabis, when the goal is to get high.

Cannabis beverages like CQ Blackberry Lemon Lime Spritzer offer a different drug experience than, for instance, a pint of craft beer. But there are also similarities.

(Courtesy CQ)

Obviously, beer and cannabis drinks are both beverages. They’re liquids designed to be enjoyed for how they taste, as well as for how they make you feel.

And just as alcohol comes in differing strengths that impact the kind of head they deliver. So do cannabis drinks, which come with differing amounts of THC (the psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant) that impact how high you feel.

We’ve also argued that alcohol can deliver a different type of mood enhancement depending on what’s type of alcoholic compounds are being consumed, not just the amount of alcohol in the beverage.

For us a beer high is a slightly different buzz than what we experience when drinking wine, or having a glass of bourbon. The point being that different types of alcoholic drinks can deliver different effects.

And the same can be said about cannabis drinks, whose mood enhancing qualities are tempered by the kind of cannabis strains employed. CQ Blackberry Lemon Lime uses the Sativa strain, and delivers a more energizing or cerebral buzz.  CQ Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer uses a hybrid THC mix that offers a more relaxing enhancement.

Alcoholic drinks hit you faster than cannabis beverages. You feel a beer much more quickly than most cannabis drinks which take bit to kick in (similar to eating a THC gummie).

And a beer buzz dissipates relatively quickly, depending on how many drinks you’ve had, while a cannabis drink’s effects hang in there much longer.

So when you’re looking at mood-enhancing beverages, it’s a personal call, different strokes for different folks, be it cannabis beverages or a fresh IPA. Many consumers swing both ways.

And finally,  the question we initially posed: “Does drinking cannabis beverages count as abstinence during Dry January?”.

Again, a personal call…

Bottom Line: It depends on what you’re REALLY abstaining from.