A piano sits a few feet away from the bar at Cannabuzz in Lexington’s Distillery District. The bar in question doesn’t offer alcohol, however.
What it does sell is cannabis-infused drinks. It’s outfitted to offer a variety of mocktails to which patrons can add cannabinoids. The bar is owned by Annie Rouse, who has made it her mission to normalize cannabis.
“My husband and I had always had a mission of normalizing cannabis and bringing cannabis beverages into a normal setting, like a bar setting, seemed like a really good path to doing that,” Rouse said.
Cannabuzz opened in 2023 — the same year Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order launching the state’s medical cannabis program.
But while Kentucky officials worked to get that program off the ground, cannabis-infused beverages crept onto the market and have been gaining in popularity since. According to market researcher Nielsen IQ, cannabis-infused beverages had more than $200 million in sales between March 2025 and March 2026.
Kentucky has not legalized recreational marijuana, only medical cannabis and hemp products with a limited amount of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.
Despite this, THC-infused drinks can be legally sold in the state, though a Congressional ban on hemp products may soon change that.
How are THC drinks legal in KY?
In Kentucky, cannabis-infused beverages are regulated by the Department of Public Health and Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Katie Moyer, treasurer for the Kentucky Hemp Association, said the beverages are legal through the 2018 Farm Bill and its definition of a hemp product. Any product with less than 0.3% THC is considered hemp.
“Kentucky has a very robust set of regulations that specifies that no synthetic products are allowed, and that any THC products that are derived from hemp have to go through a series of tests,” said Moyers, who owns a hemp seed processing facility. “They have to be labeled accurately, and they have to also be placed on a list of approved products at the state level.”
There are few limitations on what sorts of products cannabinoids can be added to, which allows Cannabuzz and other producers to add THC to things like mocktails. Products do have to be on a registry with the state to be sold, which requires labeling, manufacturing inspection and child-resistant packaging.
“The regulations are not so specific that they define what type of formula you have to use, but they are very specific in that you do have to be licensed in order to sell the adult-use products,” Moyer noted.
A cannabis bar in action
The products that Rouse sells at Cannabuzz would be banned under a looming December deadline set by Congress.
Patrons of Cannabuzz do not need a medical cannabis card to shop since everything is hemp derived.
The Lexington business focuses on drinks and edibles, which can be sold to anyone ages 21 and older. In addition to house and to-go beverages, the bar offers gummies and topicals infused with full-spectrum hemp.
Rouse said she came up with the idea for Cannabuzz during graduate school in 2015, but the industry was still very young and the supply chain wasn’t there. In 2023, they acquired the Manchester property the bar is now on.
“I realized it was time to open the 2015 dream,” Rouse said.
The idea for the bar was to introduce cannabis beverages in a familiar social setting.
“You're not just eating a little gummy and then sitting there, which is a very short moment with each other, but a beverage you can share it and it feels social,” Rouse said. “It feels like you've connected with somebody. There's an aspect to it that is different than an edible for sure.”
She’s received positive feedback, she says, especially from travelers who live in states where recreational marijuana is legal.
“A lot of people are just looking for something to help them sleep, or something to take the stress away. Or maybe they're no longer drinking, so they're looking for an alternative,” Rouse said. “Date night is big. People really like to come here for date night because it is kind of an intimate environment.”
For anyone getting drinks at Cannabuzz, Rouse recommends they enjoy them with food and start slowly with a low dose.
The bar offers full-spectrum infusions, which includes THC and CBG, or cannabigerol, infusions, as well as non-infused mocktails.
THC is the compound known to provide a high, and Rouse said CBG makes you “happy, not high” and is called “the mother cannabinoid.”
Rouse said there haven’t been any similar businesses in the area, but other markets, like breweries and gummy makers, provided starting points.
“We're making up all this as we go,” Rouse said. “It's a lot of trial and error. A lot.”
