It’s not just Bud Light’s past misadventures in wokeness that are to blame for its persistent sales slump: The beer giant is falling victim to a growing trend that’s also slamming competitors – and I recently got a taste of it myself.
Liquor and beer industry executives gripe that from their perspective, a grim cultural change is taking root among Americans. Whether it’s beer, wine or frozen margaritas, Gen Zers and Boomers alike are simply drinking less booze.
Instead, they are increasingly going the non-alcoholic route. That can mean tonics and brews labeled non or “zero alcohol” (even if they contain trace amounts). It can also mean weed, either in its smokable form, chewable pot gummies or drinks infused with THC, marijuana’s mind-altering chemical when they want a buzz.
According to a Gallup 2025 survey: “The percentage of US adults who say they consume alcohol has fallen to 54%, the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend. This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time.”
Also according to Gallup just last month: “Seventeen percent of Americans say they smoke marijuana, tying Gallup’s record high … Separately, 15% of U.S. adults now say they consume marijuana edibles. The two previous readings (for edibles) on this question were 14% in 2022 and 12% in 2024.”
Just to underscore pot’s emergence as a booze alternative, Gallup notes that “Adults under 50 are the most likely age group to report smoking marijuana, including 23% of those aged 18 to 29 and 25% of those aged 30 to 49.”
So how did I stumble on this story and these crazy numbers? One night, while sipping a zero-alcohol beer at the bar at Elio’s in Manhattan, I ran into a friend who happens to be a major liquor distributor. He noticed I wasn’t downing my usual Tito’s martini.
“You wouldn’t believe how much of that stuff I sell,” he told me, to my amazement. “I sell more zero-alcohol beer than the other stuff.”
With that, I decided to research and get more into the sober-ish lifestyle. I visited a liquor store I frequent looking for the best “near beer”. They told me the hottest selling non-alcohol stuff they sell lately is the THC drinks.
Those include “Willie’s THC Infused Social Tonic.” Of course, it’s named after Willie Nelson who is apparently a co-owner of the brand. (Yes, he wrote “Whisky River,” but maybe this also helps explain “Hello Walls”?)
“This is literally flying off the shelf,” one of the staff told me. “We can’t stock it fast enough.”
Since I was going dry, I decided to check it out. Mind you, pot has never been my thing; I hate inhaling any kind of smoke for starters. That said, maybe I was missing something, so I gave Willie’s tonic a whirl.
I survived – albeit just barely.
The label comes with warnings not to pour more than 1.5 ounces of the stuff in a soda or any other mixable drink. Let’s just say I didn’t read the not-so-fine print and managed to effectively concoct a THC martini of sorts.
That wasn’t as fun as it could have been, but I own that screw up – just like Bud Light owns trying to make Dylan Mulvaney into the second-coming of Spuds McKenzie.
By the way, I’m going on three weeks dry now. Plus, I have finally figured out the proper dosage for Willie’s elixir and never felt better.
Reps for Nelson and Bud Light didn’t return requests for comment.