|
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 quieter day on the alcohol side, so today's edition runs a bit leaner and leads with hemp/THC developments.
Top Story
|
Rhode Island lets hemp businesses quarantine over-limit THC inventory instead of destroying it
RHODE ISLAND • Rhode Island Current • Oct 21
Rhode Island's Cannabis Control Commission told its roughly 201 hemp licensees they may quarantine, rather than destroy, products exceeding the federal limit of 0.4 mg of total THC per container that takes effect December 11. Under the commission's October 8 bulletin, businesses must submit an inventory report by December 4; after December 11, quarantined products may not be processed, moved, distributed, or offered for sale unless federal or state authorities later permit it, and destruction can be requested anytime under Cannabis Office supervision. The commission said an earlier September bulletin requiring removal of noncompliant stock was updated to avoid forcing destruction while congressional action remains uncertain.
Why it matters: Retailers and distributors holding over-limit hemp beverage inventory in Rhode Island now have a hold-in-place option instead of a write-off before December 11 — but the December 4 inventory-report deadline is firm, and other states weighing similar quarantine approaches may use this as a template.
|
Federal
DEA opposes rescheduling opponents' bid to reopen marijuana hearing over GAO report
FEDERAL • Marijuana Moment • Oct 21
DEA filed a brief Wednesday opposing a request by the National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association, DUID Victim Voices, and Kenneth Finn to reopen the Schedule III rescheduling hearing for discovery and testimony tied to a September GAO report; DEA called the request "an obvious fishing expedition" and argued the report identifies documentation gaps, not flaws in the process. Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius, who heard testimony in June and July, allowed the opponents to respond and has not yet ruled.
Hemp drink maker launches campaign sending six-packs to Congress ahead of federal THC limit
NATIONAL • Marijuana Moment • Oct 19
THC beverage maker Herb Light launched "Cheers Against Prohibition" this week, letting customers who buy a 12-pack add a six-pack delivered to their members of Congress with a letter urging support for pending legislation that would keep hemp THC drinks federally legal under a regulatory framework. Co-founder Gordy Sang said "most consumers don't even know there's a federal ban in the works"; the company said it will reformulate to a 0.4 mg product if the December 11 limit takes effect as written. Several bills to avert the limit are circulating in Congress but none has advanced.
Why it matters: Suppliers are signaling reformulation plans for the post–December 11 market — retail partners should ask hemp beverage vendors now whether compliant-dose versions will be available to keep shelf sets filled.
Around the States
Nebraska cultivators petition commission over proposed license fees and testing rules
NEBRASKA • Marijuana Moment / Nebraska Examiner • Oct 21
Nebraska's four licensed medical cannabis cultivators asked the Medical Cannabis Commission in an October 15 letter to defer or reduce fees in the commission's proposed regulations — for the cultivator tier, $23,500 per license annually for renewal plus $13,000 per year for the commission-authorized seed-to-sale tracking system, about $36,500 a year per cultivation license before bonds — and to clarify how testing labs are authorized and whether out-of-state labs may be used. Interim chair Lorelle Mueting said the commission's focus is completing the regulatory process; it takes up public comments November 16, after which the proposal goes to the attorney general and governor.
Why it matters: The proposed fee schedule is still in flux — operators and partners eyeing the Nebraska market should watch the November 16 comment session, since annual carrying costs per cultivation license would start around $36,500 before bond premiums under the current draft.
Worcester council passes resolution opposing Question 8 cannabis-sales repeal
MASSACHUSETTS • Marijuana Moment • Oct 21
Worcester's City Council voted 6-0, with five abstentions, for a resolution urging voters to reject Question 8, the November 3 ballot measure that would repeal regulated recreational cannabis sales and home cultivation while leaving possession and the medical program in place. Mayor Joseph Petty, the sponsor, said the resolution is about product testing, accountability and public safety and cited the industry's more than $1.6 billion in annual sales; supporters of Question 8, whose campaign is largely funded by SAM Action, have focused their case on marijuana-impaired driving. Recent polls cited in the report show support for the measure ranging from 21 to 33 percent.
On the Radar
Nov. 1: Oklahoma's labeling rules for THC beverages take effect, requiring updated package disclosures for products sold in the state.
Nov. 12: The federal recriminalization of synthetic cannabinoids not naturally produced by the cannabis plant takes effect, and Illinois begins enforcing its own 0.4 mg per-container hemp THC cap on the same date.
Dec. 11: The federal 0.4 mg total-THC-per-container limit takes effect for most hemp products; Rhode Island hemp licensees must file inventory reports by Dec. 4, and Nebraska's commission takes up public comments on its proposed rules Nov. 16.
|