Pennsylvania charges 12 in $18.7M THC trafficking case tied to convenience stores • Texas hemp fees now in force: $5,000 per retail location, $10,000 per manufacturer location • Bipartisan SAFE Banking Act reintroduced in the Senate.

NEW REALM BREWING

Daily Compliance Brief
▶  Listen to today's brief (~2 min)

Vol. 1 • Edition 33 • Wednesday, September 16, 2026 • Alcohol & Hemp/THC Regulation • Federal + All 50 States

Good morning — here's the regulatory picture for alcohol and hemp/THC beverages, readable in about three minutes. Every headline links to the original source.

Top Story

Pennsylvania charges 12 in $18.7 million THC trafficking case tied to convenience stores

PENNSYLVANIA • Pa. Office of Attorney General • Sep 14

Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against 12 people accused of running a statewide operation that distributed high-potency THC products through convenience stores and smoke shops, with about 150,000 items seized from warehouses in Allegheny, Luzerne and Bucks counties and roughly $18.7 million in proceeds traced. Charges include corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and felony drug trafficking; the office said products were packaged and flavored to appeal to children. Sunday said the enterprise "took deliberate steps to distribute these illegal narcotics, statewide, then to conceal the millions and millions of dollars they profited from the scheme."

Why it matters: Retail locations that stock intoxicating products falling outside state law face product seizure and criminal exposure — verify supplier licensing and product compliance documentation before shelving any THC item.

Federal

Bipartisan group of senators reintroduces SAFE Banking Act

FEDERAL • Sen. Cortez Masto press release • Sep 14

Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), joined by cosponsors including Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would allow banks to serve state-legal cannabis businesses.

Why it matters: Banking access remains a friction point for hemp and THC beverage operators and some of their retail partners; passage would ease payment processing and financing across the category.

Around the States

Texas hemp fees, the full schedule: $5,000 per retail location, $10,000 per manufacturing location

TEXAS • Texas DSHS • In force since Mar 31

Completing the fee schedule behind the manufacturer-only figure we reported in Edition 16: under the DSHS Consumable Hemp Program rules (25 TAC 300), adopted March 20 and effective March 31, 2026, the annual retail hemp registration is $5,000 per location (previously about $150) and the consumable hemp product manufacturer/processor license is $10,000 per location (previously about $250), each plus the applicable Texas Online fee — every location that sells or makes consumable hemp products must hold its own registration or license (CSP Daily News). The Texas Hemp Business Council and others sued April 7 in Travis County; an appellate court lifted the trial court's temporary injunction on June 5, so the rules and fees are being applied while that appeal proceeds (THBC case status). In a separate Travis County challenge to the DSHS rules, a temporary-injunction hearing is set for October 30 (The Marijuana Herald).

Why it matters: For multi-location Texas retail accounts, registration alone now runs $5,000 per store per year — $50,000 annually for a ten-store network — before the Texas Online surcharge, and the fees apply today despite the pending litigation.

Baltimore committee takes up bill targeting illegal cannabis product sales in stores

MARYLAND • Marijuana Moment • Sep 15

The Baltimore City Council's Legislative Investigations Committee held a hearing on a bill aimed at cracking down on illegal cannabis product sales in city retail stores — another example of enforcement attention moving to the municipal level.

On the Radar

Sept. 29 — The exclusion of Canadian packaged beer, wine and spirits from U.S. importation, covered in Edition 32, takes effect; distributors carrying Canadian labels should have alternate sourcing plans in place.

Oct. 30 — A Travis County court hears the temporary-injunction request in the challenge to the Texas DSHS consumable hemp rules and fee schedule described above.

Dec. 11 — The amended federal hemp provisions are now slated to take effect December 11, 2026, following the 30-day delay signed September 4; federal implementation guidance is still pending.

Jeremy Barnes | Chief Financial Officer, New Realm Brewing Co.

Prepared for New Realm's leadership team and valued partners. This brief is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice; it is compiled with AI assistance from the linked sources — please confirm details at the link before acting on them.

Subscribe   Unsubscribe

Buttons not working? Reply to this email with the word subscribe or unsubscribe. Requests are processed automatically each morning before send.

Read online & browse the archive: compliance.newrealmbrewing.com • Listen & follow: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Amazon Music • All apps

» jbarnes@newrealmbrewing.com

» newrealmbrewing.com

» Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Audio transcript (~2 min read)

This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume One, Edition Thirty-Three, for Wednesday, September Sixteenth.

Our top story: Pennsylvania's attorney general has charged twelve people in an alleged statewide operation that distributed high-potency T-H-C products through convenience stores and smoke shops. Investigators traced about eighteen point seven million dollars in proceeds and seized roughly one hundred fifty thousand items from three warehouses. Attorney General Dave Sunday said the enterprise took deliberate steps to distribute the products statewide and to conceal the profits. For retail partners, the case is a reminder to verify supplier licensing and product compliance before stocking any T-H-C item.

In federal news, Senators Jeff Merkley and Catherine Cortez Masto, joined by Republican and Democratic cosponsors, reintroduced the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow banks to serve state-legal cannabis businesses.

Around the states: In Texas, we are completing the fee picture behind the state's consumable hemp rules. Since March thirty-first, the annual retail hemp registration is five thousand dollars per location, up from about one hundred fifty dollars, and the manufacturer license is ten thousand dollars per location, up from about two hundred fifty dollars, each plus a state processing fee. The fees are being applied while court challenges proceed, and a temporary injunction hearing in a related case is set for October thirtieth. For a ten-store Texas retail network, registration alone now runs fifty thousand dollars a year. And in Maryland, a Baltimore City Council committee heard a bill cracking down on illegal cannabis product sales in city stores.

On the radar: September twenty-ninth, the exclusion of Canadian packaged beer, wine and spirits from U.S. importation takes effect. October thirtieth, the Travis County injunction hearing. And December eleventh, the delayed federal hemp provisions are slated to take effect.

Full details and source links are in today's email. This update is for general information only — it is not legal advice.