Once the domain  of hippies and stoners, cannabis is crossing over to the mainstream in a global ‘Green Rush’ movement. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry, and while recreational use remains illegal in Australia, elsewhere it’s been given the green light – from Argentina and Portugal to 10 states in the US and recently Canada, which became the largest country in the world to legalise the production and sale of marijuana in October last year.

As modern weed businesses become more (legally) prevalent, pot is reinventing itself as a grown-up alternative to some of our favourite pastimes, while changing the food, drinks and wellness industries. Beer giant Constellation, brewer of Corona, invested upwards of $5.5 billion in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth to develop a range of cannabis infused drinks. Heineken-owned Lagunitas is selling Hi-Fi Hops, an IPA-inspired drink containing varying doses of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

We’ll know cannabis has gone beyond the bong when it becomes available in everything from cocktails and beer to soft drinks, tea, coffee and even ice cream. In Portland, Oregon, food industry branding strategist Mauria Betts is the founder of one of the first cannabis creative agencies. Her clients include Stem, a dispensary that would be at home serving espresso to hipsters in Melbourne, and Cannavore, which proffers healthy cannabis snacks. “Demand became so large that I decided to start an agency specifically working with the cannabis industry,” says Betts, describing a huge consumer shift that may one day spark up Down Under.