Beginning in February, THC-infused drinks will be on sale at Chicago’s United Center, thanks to Illinois cannabis mogul Ben Kovler. The arena will become the first venue of its size in the country to sell hemp-derived beverages at concerts and other live events—but not at Chicago Bulls or Blackhawks games.

With the announcement about the United Center, Kovler, the 46-year-old CEO and founder of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, a $1.1 billion (2024 sales) cannabis company with about 105 dispensaries across 14 states, is going against much of the cannabis world as the $28 billion hemp industry is facing an existential crisis at the end of the year. Last November, President Trump signed the bill to re-open the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, but it included a provision that effectively bans the sale of hemp-derived THC products, including infused beverages, edibles and other intoxicating products.

But as the chairman and interim CEO of the NASDAQ-listed Rythm Inc., which generated $6.6 million in revenue from January 2025 through September 2025 and licenses GTI’s brands to manufacture hemp-derived THC drinks, Señorita and Rythm, Kovler sees an opportunity while others are bracing for extinction.

“There's always risk with stroke-of-the-pen policy, bans and things like that,” he tells Forbes. “We see that as kind of a given. That's just part of the deal— regulatory changes.”

For now, if the federal hemp ban is not struck down before November of this year, delayed or replaced with regulations, Rythm Inc.’s business, and most of the businesses in the $28 billion hemp industry will go up in smoke. But Kovler says Rythm will pivot, just as GTI has had to adapt to new state laws and regulations across the 14 states it operates in. “We've been very good at that, so it doesn't........

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