Vol. 1, Ed. 35 — Fri Sep 18: Appeals court weighs Illinois wine shipping ban

A federal appeals court hears a challenge to Illinois's ban on out-of-state direct wine shipments, a bipartisan House bill would shield insurers serving state-licensed cannabis businesses, and Colorado expands product-safety testing. For general information only — not legal advice.

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The NRBC Compliance Brief is a daily two-minute audio briefing on U.S. alcohol and hemp/THC regulation, covering federal agencies and all 50 states: TTB rulings and rulemaking, state alcohol authority actions, the federal hemp-ban timeline, THC-beverage rules, court decisions, taxes, tariffs, licensing, and enforcement. A new episode arrives every morning around 7 AM Eastern.

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This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume One, Edition Thirty Five, for Friday, September Eighteenth.

Our top story: a federal appeals court in Chicago is weighing whether Illinois can keep blocking direct wine shipments from out-of-state sellers. A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit heard arguments on Thursday. Attorney James Tanford, arguing for the challengers, said the Twenty-First Amendment does not justify a complete ban on interstate wine shipments. Illinois said the restriction protects health and safety by keeping alcohol sales subject to in-person inspection. A ruling against the state could open one of the country's largest markets to out-of-state direct shipping, and it would signal how far courts will let states restrict cross-border alcohol sales.

In Washington, Representatives Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat, and Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, introduced the CLAIM Act. The bill would shield insurance companies from federal penalties for covering state-licensed cannabis businesses, and would bar insurers from canceling policies solely because of a cannabis connection.

Around the states: Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division is expanding residual solvent testing requirements for regulated products, and it issued two health and safety advisories this month for contaminated vaporizer products. Retail partners in Colorado should check shelves for the recalled batches. And in Alaska, regulators filed proposed rule changes on THC limits for cannabis edibles.

Two dates for your radar. September twenty-ninth: the executive order banning imports of Canadian beer, wine and spirits takes effect; goods entered before that date remain subject to the existing fifty percent duty instead. And December eleventh: the federal ban on consumable hemp products with more than four tenths of a milligram of total THC per container takes effect, after Congress moved the date back a month from November twelfth.

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