Welcome to the Cannabis Beverage Association!

The Cannabis Beverage Association (CBA) has made tremendous strides since its inception in 2019. We started as a small group of passionate cannabis-beverage entrepreneurs and business operators who recognized the potential of the infused-beverage category, but also saw and experienced many severe challenges that would stifle the category’s growth.

Some of those challenges include:

• Regulatory hurdles including burdensome labeling and packaging restrictions;
• Arduous and unprecedented testing standards;
• Disparate testing methods across labs leading to costly trial and error searches for reliable labs testing;
• Limited consumer and dispensary-buyer awareness or understanding about infused-beverages;
• Low industry-wide standards for infused beverage consistency and food-safe manufacturing practices;
• Unsuitable infrastructure for infused-beverage throughout the supply chain;

Cumbersome and expensive protocols for procuring samples for marketing and testing.

As an association, we’re taking these challenges head-on by building a coalition of stakeholders who share our vision for the future of cannabis and infused-beverages and our passion and drive to influence change, so that we can, as Vertosa puts it: #infusetheworld. You can see in our purpose, vision and mission, that we’re steadfast at our core:

Purpose: We believe in the power of infused beverages to de-stigmatize and broaden cannabis use.

Vision: We aspire to a world where cannabis is federally legal, access is not restricted, and beverages are the leading method of cannabis consumption.

Mission: Our mission is to unite cannabis beverage stakeholders and advance the collective interests of the industry through advocacy and education, providing an alternative method of consuming cannabis in a socially acceptable manner with products that provide a safe and enjoyable experience for consumers.

We have lofty goals and the plans in place to achieve them. The following initiatives will be a focus for this year:

• CBA Legislative Agenda – to influence regulatory and legislative changes including a platform based on educating policy makers, regulators, and legislators.
• CBA Website Enhancements – the driving force behind membership growth as well as the platform to deliver value to our members.
• Consumer Awareness and Education Campaign – The goal is to bring awareness and education to consumers about infused-beverages (eg, “Got Milk” campaign). See the first add in LA Weekly’s Best of Cannabis edition (Pages 36-37)
• Thought Leadership – through events and content, the CBA will offer guidance and value from the industry’s leaders on topics ranging from developing drinks to manufacturing and marketing them.

CBA Seal of Approval – a program we’re building to create standards and certifications for operators in the space, starting with infused beverage testing. In partnership with TraceTrust, we’re conducting a study to understand the disparities across labs for testing beverages.

We hope you share our excitement about infused beverages! We appreciate you subscribing to our Newsletter, and we encourage you to join us, as a member, in paving the way for this category to thrive!

Member Spotlight

From concept to market-ready, Spacestation offers turnkey contract-manufacturing and co-packing solutions for companies seeking to develop cannabis-infused consumable products. Our full-service product development strategy and manufacturing capabilities take your cannabis-infused product to market faster and more effectively.

Contact: Macai Polansky

CBA President

Co-founder Spacestation Mfg. / Spacestation Distro / Nectr / Matt’s High Soda

Macai is a cannabis industry veteran with experience in cannabis cultivation and processing, manufacturing, distribution and non-storefront home delivery. He got his start in the industry, pre-regulation, during the Prop 215 era. When MMRSA and Prop 64 passed, he got involved in the early stakeholder meetings with the state and then helped found the California Cannabis Couriers Association (CCCA). During his presidency, the association successfully lobbied the State to create a license type for non-storefront delivery businesses, helped create the cannabis delivery ordinance and tiered license fees in the City of Sacramento, as well as helped fight the winning battle which ensured borderless statewide delivery. Since then, he co-founded Spacestation Mfg, the state’s first contract manufacturer focused solely on infused-beverage as well as Spacestation Distro – a beverage centric cannabis distributor focused on paving the way for the infused beverage supply chain. Lastly, he founded the CBA and has aspirations of seeing infused beverages in bars and traditional retail, alongside alcohol, as a safer alternative for all occasions.