Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to THC use.

Nowadays is a THC-infused drink that’s branded and packaged like alcohol. The company describes their product as a “cannabis infused spirit” that comes “without the negative effects of alcohol.”

But how much THC is really in Nowadays and is it enough to produce a psychoactive effect? Is the dose safe? What are the other ingredients in this drink? And how do real people describe the effects of Nowadays? 

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Nowadays based on medical studies to give our take on whether or not the THC dose is likely to be psychoactive and whether or not the drink is healthy overall.

We’ll also feature unsponsored customer reviews of the brand and discuss the potential for side effects.

Is Nowadays Unhealthy?

The ingredients in Nowadays Low Dose are shown above.

This ingredient list is not clearly accessible on the product page on the brand’s website, but rather on the FAQ page. This is unacceptable and we urge the brand to clearly publish the ingredients on the product page, because this is important for consumer safety.

Sugar is the first ingredient after water, and there are 2 grams (g) of sugar per serving and 33 g of sugar in the entire bottle.

Diets high in added sugar contribute to obesity, according to a 2020 medical review, so health-conscious consumers as well as consumers seeking to lose weight may wish to avoid this drink, given that the American diet already contains high amounts of added sugar.

Natural flavors is the next ingredient, and as we documented in our HOP WTR reviews article on another alcohol alternative brand, at least one medical review suggests that some flavoring additives may have toxic effects.

Citric acid was shown to cause inflammatory reactions in some individuals in a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal.

Emulsifier is a strange ingredient description for an ingestible product, because typically the emulsifier would be more specifically defined.

Some emulsifiers have negative potential health effects like polysorbate 80, an emulsifier clinically shown to disrupt gut barrier function.

Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate are preservatives, and some food preservatives are associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease and aging according to a medical review published in the Food Additives & Contaminants journal.

We consider Nowadays to be unhealthy due to all of the additive ingredients highlighted above, and we actually consider alcohol (in moderation) to be a significantly healthier option than this drink.

Although alcohol can potentially have negative effects on health, drinking alcohol in moderation is associated with reductions in all-cause mortality in some population subsets, as documented in a 2023 population study.

But does Nowadays contain enough THC to create a psychoactive effect? We’ll share our thoughts in the next section of this article.

Is Nowadays Psychoactive?

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Nowadays Low Dose contains a 6 milligram (mg) THC dose, and Nowadays Micro Dose contains a 2 mg THC dose.

There’s a limited amount of medical data available on what constitutes a psychoactive dose, likely because the placebo effect can play such a strong role, and psychoactive effects are subjective.

This is to say that there isn’t really a medically-defined psychoactive THC dose, but there are some clues from clinical studies.

A 2020 clinical trial documented “pronounced subjective effects and markedly impaired cognitive and psychomotor functioning” after consumption of 25 mg of THC.

A 10 mg THC dose produced “subjective drug effects” but did not affect cognitive or psychomotor function in a clinical trial published in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal.

Overall, we consider Nowadays unlikely to have significant psychoactive effects in otherwise healthy adults, however, either product can certainly have some psychoactive effects since that varies so much individual-to-individual.

A VICE News video is only four minutes long and analyzes whether microdosing THC can have uniquely positive effects:

Will Nowadays Cause Side Effects?

Nowadays doesn’t appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, but we can make an educated guess about side effects based on its ingredients.

THC is the ingredient that we consider most likely to cause side effects.

As we documented in our article on THC gummies for sleep, THC is clinically shown to have negative effects on sleep quality in some people.

Cannabis use increases risk of having psychotic symptoms according to a 2023 medical review.

Overall, we consider Nowadays unlikely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults given the THC doses used, but we do consider this drink more likely to cause serious side effects than a moderate dose of alcohol.

The FAQ page on Nowadays’ website does not mention any risk of side effects.

Real People Try Nowadays

A TikTok creator named “justanothernurse” shared her experience after drinking Nowadays (what appears to be the Low Dose version):

@justanothernurse1 Replying to @livindollboutique How did @DRINK NOWADAYS work?? I will continue to buy it!! #justanothernurse1 ♬ Little Things - Tiqta

A TikTok creator named “itstylerkidd” shared the experience that both she and her mother had after drinking Nowadays:

@itstylerkidd Replying to @aaleviacruz its actually a solid 9.5/10 for me 🫶🏼🍃✨🍹 #thcinfuseddrinks #thcinfusion #nowadays #nowadaysdrinkreview #mojito #mojitos #mojitorecipe #productreview #productrecommendations #tylerkidd ♬ original sound - T Y L E R

Pros and Cons of Nowadays

Here are the pros and cons of Nowadays in our opinion:

Pros:

• Relatively low THC dose
• Great branding/packaging

Cons:

• Brand fails to clearly publish ingredient list on product page
• Contains refined sugar
• Contains preservatives
• Contains citric acid
• Contains “emulsifier”
• Contains flavoring additives
• THC can cause side effects in some individuals
• Psychoactive dose of THC seems poorly defined

Conclusion

Nowadays is an interesting brand, but not one we’d currently recommend from a health perspective.

We disagree with the health-related marketing of this company and the suggestion that it’s healthier than alcohol. We consider moderate intake of alcohol to be significantly healthier than Nowadays.

Moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with reduced mortality in some population groups, while Nowadays contains a host of inactive ingredients with questionable health effects.

It also seems that the medical literature hasn’t clearly defined the psychoactive dose of THC, so while this drink seems unlikely to cause side effects in healthy adults, it may cause side effects in people who are sensitive to THC.

We hope that healthier THC-infused beverages emerge on the market, or Nowadays improves its formulation from a health perspective.