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. A quiet weekend on the regulatory calendar — today’s edition runs shorter than usual. TOP STORY Rhode Island regulators to issue updated hemp guidance as the Dec. 11 federal THC limit nears RHODE ISLAND • Marijuana Moment / Rhode Island Current • Oct 10 Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission plans to revise its September 11 compliance bulletin and issue updated hemp guidance “in the coming days,” a commission spokesperson told Rhode Island Current, as the federal limit of 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container approaches its December 11 effective date. The state’s 2025 rules allow up to 1 milligram of THC per serving and 5 milligrams per package; its regulated hemp market booked $2.85 million in 2025 sales — $2.36 million of it, about 83 percent, from THC drinks and seltzers — and the state counted 201 licensed hemp businesses, including 169 retailers, as of October 1. Nick Fede Jr., president of the American Beverage Licensees, said banks may stop allowing credit-card payments for hemp products once the federal change takes effect. Why it matters: Retail partners holding hemp licenses face a hard pivot on Dec. 11 — inventory sell-through, card-payment availability and the revised state bulletin will determine whether drinks stay on shelves through the holidays, so watch for the updated guidance before placing further hemp-beverage orders. |
FEDERAL Marijuana Policy Project asks Congress to halt the hemp THC ban and adopt a regulatory framework FEDERAL • Marijuana Moment • Oct 9 The Marijuana Policy Project asked supporters to urge members of Congress to halt the scheduled federal ban on hemp THC products and replace it with a regulatory system including a 21-and-over age limit and testing, labeling and potency standards, writing that “creating a framework for regulations is the only viable path forward.” Several bills remain pending without floor action: Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Greg Landsman (D-OH) would tax and regulate hemp THC drinks like alcohol, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) is circulating a draft to delay the ban and add packaging, testing and age rules, and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) has filed a broader regulatory proposal. On the other side, a multistate coalition of attorneys general has urged Congress to reject efforts to delay or weaken the restrictions, and the anti-drug coalition CADCA’s election guide asks candidates whether they support letting the changes take effect without further delay. AROUND THE STATES New Jersey Senate president files bill tying the state hemp-beverage deadline to the federal date NEW JERSEY • The Marijuana Herald • Oct 4 Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) introduced S4635, which would replace New Jersey’s November 13 cutoff for licensed sales of intoxicating hemp beverages with a “federal compliance date” — December 11, 2026, or the date the federal hemp-definition changes take effect, whichever is later — so the state deadline would automatically track any further federal delay. Existing product rules, including the 10-milligram total-THC-per-can cap and certificate-of-analysis requirements, are unchanged; an Assembly counterpart, A5604, has been filed, and the Senate bill awaits Judiciary Committee action. Why it matters: New Jersey distributors and retailers currently face a state hemp-beverage deadline a month ahead of the federal one; passage would close that gap and keep the state compliance date aligned if Congress moves the federal date again. ON THE RADAR Nov. 12 — Synthetic cannabinoids not naturally produced by the hemp plant are recriminalized under federal law, and Missouri’s intoxicating-hemp law takes effect, moving hemp THC products into the state’s licensed cannabis system, with beverages allowed at general retail until the federal cutoff. Dec. 11 — The federal restrictions on hemp-derived THC products enacted in the November 2025 appropriations law take effect after a one-month delay — the date that would end most intoxicating hemp-beverage sales nationwide absent further congressional action. Nov. 24 — The challengers’ consolidated opening brief is due in the D.C. Circuit appeal over the administration’s marijuana rescheduling move, under the joint briefing schedule proposed October 9; final briefs would land February 19, keeping oral argument on track before the court’s summer recess. |