Gen Z drinks less alcohol than any generation on record, and it's showing up in distributor numbers everywhere. Beer shipments are down for the fourth straight year. "Sober curious" went from wellness-blog buzzword to actual purchasing pattern. The consumers pulling back from alcohol aren't pulling back from social drinking. They're looking for something else to hold at a party, to crack open after work, to order when everyone else is ordering. THC beverages fit that slot in a way that edibles and flower never could. It's a can. It's cold. It's sessionable. You don't need to explain how to use it. Cannabis beverage sales in legal states have grown every quarter for the past two years while overall cannabis sales have been flat or declining. Beverages are the only category consistently gaining share, and a big chunk of that growth is new consumers coming in from the alcohol side who would never have walked into a dispensary for a pre-roll. That's why distribution matters more in beverages than in any other cannabis category. These aren't dispensary loyalists browsing a menu. They're convenience shoppers who want the product cold and on the shelf when they want it, the same way they buy a six-pack. The brands that win this wave will be the ones with distribution infrastructure that meets that expectation across dispensaries, hemp retail, and DTC, not the ones with the best Instagram page and a fulfillment center. The alcohol industry spent a century building the model that moves product to every corner store and bar in the country. Cannabis beverages need something comparable, built for the regulatory patchwork we actually operate in. The consumers are already here.