Vol. 1, Ed. 57 — Fri Oct 9: Massachusetts senators to vote against cannabis retail repeal

Massachusetts senators say they will vote against the Question 8 retail cannabis repeal; Washington opens rulemaking on medical-cannabis certification for federal registration; a Missouri jury awards $10 million in a license ownership dispute. For general information only — not legal advice.

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This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume One, Edition Fifty-Seven, for Friday, October Ninth.

Our top story: Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said they will vote against Question Eight, the November third ballot measure that would repeal the state's laws allowing licensed retail sales of adult-use cannabis. Legal possession and the medical program would continue. Warren said legalizing cannabis is better than continuing an unregulated, underground market, while the measure's campaign, largely funded by SAM Action, has focused its advertising on marijuana-impaired driving. Recent polls show the measure trailing by wide margins. A yes vote on November third would close every licensed adult-use retail outlet in the state.

It was a quiet day on the federal side, so the rest of today's news comes from the states.

In Washington, the Liquor and Cannabis Board voted three to nothing to open rulemaking on a process for cannabis businesses to document their medical-market activity, paperwork they would need to pursue federal registration under Schedule Three. Agency staff had recommended rejecting the petition, citing reliance on self-reporting and administrative burden.

In Missouri, a Saint Louis jury awarded ten million dollars in a dispute over cannabis license ownership, and state regulators will publish proposed ownership-control rules on November second, with public comments due December second.

In Minnesota, retailer Top Ten Liquors said it will keep stocking THC beverages as the December eleventh federal limits approach.

And in Colorado, Sierra Nevada is ending its Denver-area relationship with Coors Distributing Company and moving to Reyes.

On the radar: the federal hemp THC limits take effect December eleventh unless Congress acts, the synthetic cannabinoid ban and Illinois's Hemp Act arrive November twelfth, and New Jersey's cutoff for hemp beverage sales outside its cannabis-license system lands November thirteenth.

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