Is weed quietly replacing wine?

Is Cannabis Quietly Replacing Your Nightcap?

Turns out, it’s not just you swapping that second glass of wine for a 5mg gummy. In legal cannabis states across the US, beer sales are dipping, and not just by coincidence.

A recent study looked at Colorado, Oregon, and Washington and found that beer consumption dropped after cannabis was legalised, while wine and spirits mostly held steady. The shift isn’t massive, but it’s measurable. And in Canada, alcohol sales have also been sliding, just as cannabis becomes more mainstream. Coincidence? We think not…

So what’s going on here? Is cannabis actually chipping away at alcohol’s dominance, one vape pen at a time?

We sat down with Liam O’Dowd, co-founder of Leafie, to talk about that exact question, and a lot more. From the rise of the “conscious cannabis user” to why your nan might soon find a THC drink in her fridge, it’s a fresh look at where things are headed.

👉 Read the full conversation

Build a Third Space in 30 Days

A third space is the place that isn’t home or work, where people can show up, feel welcome, and connect without spending much or planning hard. Think libraries, indie cafés, parks, and community rooms. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg framed it as neutral ground that’s walkable, affordable, open for long stretches, and great for casual interaction among strangers. Your job is to make one real, local, and recurring.

Below is our quickfire playbook on how to build an inclusive, sober curious third space inspired by Wonderworks recent panel, Cracking Gen Z.

You can replay the full conversation here.

1) Start with your why

Name the gap you’re closing. Millie Gooch launched Sober Girl Society to prove life can be full and fun without alcohol, then layered in boozeless brunches, mixers, and online resources. Clear purpose first; events second.

Prompt: “We exist to help ______ feel welcome doing ______ without needing ______.”

2) Pick a neutral, accessible home

Choose spaces that don’t demand a tab or a dress code: a library meeting room, church hall, indie café during off-hours, a community garden, or a park shelter.

3) Design the format: solo + social

Steal the Offline Club cadence: begin with quiet focus (reading, journaling, sketching) and end with gentle social time. Consider a phone-free first hour to help everyone land.

4) Make alcohol optional, or absent

Socialising often defaults to booze. Third Place Bar flipped that script with alcohol-free pop-ups (trivia, sober comedy, NA cocktail classes, drag brunch). You can do the same: offer NA drinks, tea, or mocktails; make “no pressure to drink” explicit.

5) Keep it small, but repeatable

Consistency beats scale. Start with 6–12 people and the same slot each week or month. Familiar rhythm builds trust faster than one-off spectacles.

6) Program with purpose

Tie activities to your why: SGS runs inclusive, alcohol-free socials; Offline Club creates space to reset; your night could be book swaps, craft circles, zero-waste potlucks, or skills shares.

7) Build belonging on purpose

Post simple house rules: be kind, opt-in conversation, respect pronouns, no tipsy behaviour, step-free seating available.

8) Fund it without fuss

Keep costs low: borrow spaces, partner with indie cafés in off-hours, pass a pay-what-you-can jar, or find a local sponsor (NA drinks brand, bookstore, yoga studio). Offer sliding-scale tickets if needed.

9) Spread the word

Use existing hubs: local WhatsApp groups, community boards, running clubs, bookshops, recovery and sober-curious networks. Post the same clear invite each time with the what/where/when and “drop-in welcome.”

Running (booze) free

Meet Rich Casement, the man who swapped shots for strides.

After spending 20 years deep in the belly of the booze industry, Rich hit pause on the pints in 2021.

What started as a “six-month break” is now a full-blown lifestyle revolution. Four years later, he’s co-founder of Clean Break, a coaching brand helping people go alcohol-free, and get moving while they’re at it.

“It’s about finish lines, not finish times“ 🔥

That’s the Clean Break mantra. And no, you don’t have to be a marathoner to get involved, simply sober-curious, sober-serious, or somewhere in between. And a pair of running shoes helps too.

Rich (on the left of the image) and fellow coach Andy Delderfield guide clients through mindset shifts, movement routines, and lifestyle upgrades, all rooted in freedom over fuzziness.

So what’s new?

They just launched a training app partnership with RunDot.

Think personalised programming, recovery tracking, and a 30-day free trial to test the waters.

Their first Clean Break Retreat is happening in Feb 2026. Early sign-ups are live now (deposit secures your spot). 🏃‍♀️
Spring 2026 race training is open. So whether it’s your first 5K or you’re chasing your next big PR (that’s “personal record,” not “press release”).

Follow their journey @take.a.cleanbreak, where you can also find links to the RunDot partnership, and their retreat and events.

TL;DR:

From beer taps to finish lines, Rich’s story is your reminder that it’s never too late to pivot, or to run like hell in a whole new direction.

Snippets - High

New research from the University of Victoria suggests psychedelics like psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT may help heal brain injuries by reducing inflammation and boosting neuroplasticity. – Read more

Texas is positioning itself as a leader in psychedelic medicine with $50 million in state-backed research, bipartisan political support, and rapidly growing ketamine clinics like Neuroglow leading the charge. – Read more

Backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights, Mindstate Design Labs has used AI to create a new class of psychedelics that deliver therapeutic benefits without the traditional hallucinogenic “trip.” – Read more

Canada’s legal cannabis industry added C$16 billion to the national GDP in 2024, outpacing sectors like forestry and brewing, and supporting over 227,000 jobs. – Read more

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed his government will not legalise cannabis, telling students in Liverpool, “We’re not going down that route.” – Read more

Snippets - Dry

Charlie Sheen returns with Wild AF, a new non-alcoholic beer born from his sobriety and brewed for a healthier reset. – Read more

Mother Root is stepping into the Dragons’ Den with founder Bethan and COO Alice pitching their fiery non-alcoholic aperitif to the panel next week. – Read more

A new NIHR-funded report reveals that heavy drinkers are more likely to buy alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks, raising questions about pricing and public health impact. – Read more

A major new study from Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale finds that any level of alcohol consumption may increase the risk of dementia, challenging long-held beliefs about "safe" or "protective" drinking. – Read more

The global alcohol industry is pushing back against the WHO's stance that no level of drinking is risk-free, lobbying governments to weaken new health policies in a high-stakes battle over public health messaging. – Read more

Thats all for now!

From AI-designed psychedelics to beer being slowly outpaced by bud, the world of mindful consumption is evolving fast, and we’re here to decode it with you.

Oh, and before you go, how did this issue land for you? Tap a rating below to let us know (takes 2 seconds, promise):