Vol. 1, Ed. 38 — Mon Sep 21: Texas defends hemp license fees in appeals court

Texas defends its hemp product rules and per-location license fees in an appeals court filing; a North Carolina poll finds majority support for keeping hemp THC products legal for adults 21 and over; the Canadian alcohol import ban takes effect September 29. 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-Eight, for Monday, September Twenty-First. A quiet news weekend, so today's edition is a leaner one.

Our top story: Texas has filed a thirty-nine page reply brief in the state's Fifteenth Court of Appeals, defending its consumable hemp rules against a challenge from the Texas Hemp Business Council. The state argues that its total delta-nine THC testing standard, which counts THC-A that can convert into delta-nine, is the scientifically and legally correct standard, and that its fee and penalty provisions fall within the agency's authority. The license fees are directly at issue: a consumable hemp product license for manufacturing runs ten thousand dollars per year, per location, and every retail location selling consumable hemp products, beverages included, needs a five thousand dollar per year registration. The rules stay enforceable while the appeal proceeds. Both sides have asked for oral argument, and no date has been set.

Around the states: In North Carolina, an Elon University poll found fifty-three percent of adults support keeping hemp-derived THC products legal, with twenty-eight percent opposed, and eighty-two percent back banning sales to anyone under twenty-one. And in Delaware, Governor Matt Meyer signed a bill renaming the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement to add marijuana enforcement to its name, reflecting duties the division already carries.

On the radar: September twenty-ninth, one week out, the executive order barring imports of Canadian beer, wine and spirits takes effect. September thirtieth, federal funding expires, with hemp policy language still unresolved in Congress. November twelfth, synthetic cannabinoids are recriminalized federally and Missouri's own hemp restrictions begin. And December eleventh, the broader federal ban on consumable hemp products above zero point four milligrams of THC per container takes effect.

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