Minnesota restaurants are considering taking THC products off the menu after some insurance companies removed cannabis from their policies. 

The industry is grappling with finding liability coverage that covers alcohol and cannabis as the popularity of THC grows.

You may have seen it on the menu: THC drinks are popping up at restaurants across the state.

“Honestly I love them. They’re great,” Sam Ginkel, a customer, said. “It’s a nice change of pace from just a regular beer if you’re not in that kind of mood.”

But now Duke’s on 7 in Minnetonka is considering pulling the THC drinks from the menu because liability is on the line.

“There’s been some more question marks on legalities and liquor license coverage with insurance,” Luke Derheim, Craft and Crew Hospitality co-owner said.

Legalizing marijuana in Minnesota came with changes to existing THC rules.

The law change clearly states how hemp-derived THC products and marijuana can be served in bars and restaurants.

Since the change, Derheim said their insurance company notified the restaurant that cannabis is no longer covered.

“If somebody has a THC drink and somebody has a liquor drink, we’ve been told and almost all restaurants we’ve been hearing from is that we’re not covered if they have both in one sitting,” said Derheim.

The Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association has been a guide for restaurant owners on what to do if they can’t get liability coverage to sell alcohol and THC products to customers in the same sitting.

“The concern of our industry, the licensed beverage industry, has been liability,” said Tony Chesak, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association executive director. “I’m getting still to this day a slew of phone calls confused about what they can and can’t sell.”

Chesak said there are a few insurance companies offering the policy, but it comes at a price.

“You’re taking a very expensive liability policy, not getting a lot of coverage out of that policy, which can put some businesses in jeopardy,” he said.

Business owners are hoping for more clarity to ease the confusion.

“There’s just this whole gray area of THC law that just really needs to be caught up by the state and the insurance agencies,” Derheim said.

The State Office of Cannabis Management will enforce the new law changes when it’s up and running in 2025.