North Carolina panel floats state-run cannabis retail with private cultivation • Fourth Circuit questions DEA’s Schedule I rule for hemp-derived HHC • Colorado sets Q4 marijuana excise-tax market rates
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NEW REALM BREWING
Daily Compliance Brief
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Vol. 1 • Edition 39 • Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Alcohol & Hemp/THC Regulation • Federal + All 50 States
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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.
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Top Story
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North Carolina panel floats state-run cannabis stores, private cultivation licenses
NORTH CAROLINA • Marijuana Moment • Sep 21
The Market and Regulatory Subcommittee of Gov. Josh Stein’s (D) Advisory Council on Cannabis discussed a framework that would place retail cannabis sales exclusively in state-controlled stores — drawing on North Carolina’s ABC liquor-retail model and Quebec’s — while reserving cultivation and manufacturing for private businesses under multiple license types (craft farm, commercial cultivation, processor). Three wholesale structures are on the table: private licensed distributors, a state-operated central warehouse, or a hybrid. NC ABC’s Renee Metz presented at the meeting; the council’s final report to the legislature is due December 31, 2026, and no fee schedule has been proposed yet.
Why it matters: As drafted, private retailers would have no path to a cannabis retail license in North Carolina, and private distributors’ access to the wholesale tier depends on which of the three distribution options the council recommends by December 31 — worth watching closely for any partner planning a North Carolina cannabis or hemp adjacency.
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Federal
Fourth Circuit panel questions DEA’s Schedule I designation of hemp-derived HHC
FEDERAL • Law360 • Sep 18
At oral argument Friday, a Fourth Circuit panel that included Chief Judge Albert Diaz and Judge Toby Heytens appeared skeptical of the rationale the DEA used to designate hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a psychoactive compound synthesized from hemp extracts, as a Schedule I substance. Hemp companies challenging the rule argue HHC qualifies as a legal hemp derivative under the 2018 Farm Bill; the case was flagged in Marijuana Moment’s Monday roundup.
Why it matters: The decision will help define how far DEA can go in scheduling hemp-derived cannabinoids by administrative action — the same authority question that hangs over other converted cannabinoids used in hemp beverages.
California cannabis chief: DEA has issued no rescheduling implementation guidance to states
FEDERAL / CALIFORNIA • Marijuana Moment • Sep 21
California Department of Cannabis Control Director Clint Kellum told the state’s Cannabis Advisory Committee that regulators “have received no formal updates from DEA headquarters on implementation guidance” since the attorney general moved state-regulated medical marijuana to Schedule III in April — even as DEA conducts on-site inspections of registered businesses and requests state program data. State regulators say the gap leaves them unable to advise licensees on federal compliance steps.
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Around the States
Colorado sets Q4 average market rates behind its 15% marijuana excise tax
COLORADO • Colo. Dept. of Revenue • Sep 22
The Department of Revenue published new average market rates effective October 1–December 31: retail bud $601 per pound, trim $204, bud allocated for extraction $425, trim for extraction $100, immature plants $18 each. The AMR is the valuation basis for the 15% excise tax on transfers between cultivators and affiliated stores or manufacturers, recalculated quarterly; a separate hearing on proposed retail marijuana tax rules is set for October 15.
Alabama health board withdraws objection to marijuana rescheduling under state law
ALABAMA • Marijuana Moment • Sep 19
The Alabama Department of Public Health’s governing body voted unanimously on September 18 to withdraw the objection it filed in May to aligning state scheduling with the federal move of state-regulated medical marijuana to Schedule III. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said the department’s legal team had resolved its implementation concerns for pharmacies and patients.
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On the Radar
September 29 — The presidential order excluding Canadian wine, spirits and beer from U.S. importation takes effect; product imported earlier but not yet entered for consumption stays subject to the existing 50% duty (Shanken News Daily).
December 11 — The federal hemp redefinition limiting legal products to 0.4 mg total THC per container takes effect, after Congress moved the date back from November 12 in the funding bill signed September 4 (Marijuana Moment).
October 15 — Colorado’s Department of Revenue holds its hearing on proposed retail marijuana tax rule changes; written comment is open until the hearing (notice).
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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.
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Audio transcript (~2 min read)
This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume One, Edition Thirty-Nine, for Tuesday, September Twenty-Second.
Our top story: in North Carolina, a subcommittee of Governor Josh Stein's Advisory Council on Cannabis discussed a framework that would put all retail cannabis sales in state-controlled stores, modeled on the state's A-B-C liquor stores and Quebec's system, while leaving cultivation and manufacturing to private businesses under several license types. Three wholesale structures are under consideration: private distributors, a state-run central warehouse, or a hybrid. No fee schedule has been proposed yet, and the council's final report to the legislature is due December Thirty-First. As drafted, private retailers would have no path to a cannabis retail license in the state.
On the federal side: a Fourth Circuit appeals panel appeared skeptical at Friday's oral argument of the D-E-A's reasoning for placing H-H-C, a compound synthesized from hemp extracts, on Schedule One. Hemp companies argue it qualifies as a legal hemp derivative under the Twenty-Eighteen Farm Bill. And California's top cannabis regulator, Clint Kellum, said states have received no formal guidance from the D-E-A on implementing marijuana rescheduling, even as the agency inspects registered businesses and requests state program data.
Around the states: Colorado published new average market rates for its fifteen percent marijuana excise tax, effective October First, with retail bud set at six hundred one dollars per pound, and holds a hearing on proposed marijuana tax rules October Fifteenth. Alabama's public health board voted unanimously to withdraw its objection to aligning state law with federal rescheduling.
On the radar: the order excluding Canadian wine, spirits and beer from U-S importation takes effect September Twenty-Ninth, and the federal hemp redefinition, four tenths of a milligram of total T-H-C per container, takes effect December Eleventh.
Full details and source links are in today's email. This update is for general information only — it is not legal advice.