Vol. 1, Ed. 65 — Sat Oct 17: Massachusetts lawmakers oppose cannabis-sales repeal measure

Sixty-two Massachusetts lawmakers come out against the Question 8 cannabis-sales repeal; the administration asks the Supreme Court to limit nationwide vacatur of agency rules; Tennessee hemp retailers contract under new TABC licensing and fees. For general information only — not legal advice.

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This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume 1, Edition 65, for Saturday, October 17.

Our top story. Sixty-two Massachusetts state lawmakers from both parties, including the House Speaker and Senate President, announced Friday that they oppose Question Eight, the November third ballot measure that would repeal the state's laws allowing licensed commercial sales of recreational cannabis. Possession and the medical program would remain legal. Governor Maura Healey also opposes the measure, and one state senator cited more than four hundred licensed retailers and about two hundred fifty million dollars in annual tax revenue at stake. Two recent polls found sixty-one and seventy-one percent of likely voters against the repeal.

In federal news, a group that does not disclose its donors is running an ad against Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana over his push to keep hemp-derived T-H-C products legal. Sheehy is drafting a bill with Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota that would call off the scheduled federal hemp T-H-C ban and set market rules instead. Also, the administration asked the Supreme Court to decide whether a single federal court can vacate an agency rule nationwide — a question that shapes how challenges to alcohol and hemp regulations play out.

Around the states. Tennessee hemp retailers report steep contraction under the state's new Alcoholic Beverage Commission regime: annual retail license fees rose from two hundred fifty dollars to one thousand dollars, wholesalers pay five thousand, and gas stations are no longer eligible. And in North Carolina, a new poll found sixty-three percent support for recreational legalization while a hemp T-H-C bill awaits House action.

On the radar: D-E-A's rescheduling reply is due October twenty-first, and the federal hemp deadlines remain November twelfth for synthetic cannabinoids and December eleventh for the point-four milligram per container cap.

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