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Rep. Morgan Griffith wants Congress to settle hemp in a lame-duck reconciliation bill before December 11th, and the same deadline reaches the seed banks. Massachusetts’ Question 8 passed Question 3 as the costliest question on the ballot, and Boston named a former Cannabis Control Commission member to chair its cannabis board. Nevada is studying a move to a retail-level cannabis tax, cannabis executives are writing checks to the House Democratic leader, and Kansas voters back legalization in a new poll.

🏛️ Fixed by reconciliation?
🌱 Along for the ride
🗳️ The tab for existing
💼 Hedging bets

Rep. Morgan Griffith, the Virginia Republican behind the HEMP Act, told reporters Monday that he wants his THC regulatory bill in a reconciliation package before December 11th. “If we could get that into a reconciliation bill before the 11th of December, that’d be fabulous,” he said. “I truly believe if we don’t do something before that Dec. 11th deadline, that it’s going to create all kinds of issues.” In a statement later that day, he suggested pairing it with a tax on hemp-derived products. He named the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act from Reps. Beth Van Duyne and Greg Landsman, which would set a federal excise tax based on THC content. Griffith’s bill gives FDA three years to set limits, with defaults of 5 milligrams per serving and 30 per package if the agency doesn’t finish. Reconciliation runs off a budget resolution both chambers adopt, and only the House has adopted one. Sen. Cynthia Lummis wants a post-election reconciliation bill but called syncing the two chambers “very challenging.” Griffith acknowledged that Rep. Andy Harris and Sen. Ted Budd just want the delay stopped. None of this necessarily changes the calculation, since Griffith has been pushing for a while. There are a lot of variables between now and December 11th, including the midterms, who retains power heading into January and the temperament of the White House. Cannabinoids the plant can’t produce on its own lose hemp status sooner, on November 12th. (Roll Call; Marijuana Moment)

The federal hemp definition that takes effect December 11th also covers seeds. According to a supply-chain analysis in Cannabis & Tech Today, viable seeds from a parent plant above 0.3 percent total THC, THCA included, lose hemp status even when the seed itself carries next to none. The test applies to the parent plant’s THC content, which a buyer can’t check from the seed. Blimburn Seeds, run by CEO Sergio Martínez, projects 4.89 million U.S. units in 2025 by its own model, which is 46.5 percent of its total. Seeds seem inadvertently swept into this. Congress seems focused on finished products, and seeds are an input. Still, they’re along for the ride and farmers are facing some awkward conversations with their lawyers. (Cannabis & Tech Today)

🎯 A NuggMD-commissioned survey of 654 cannabis consumers in legal-market states found that 26 percent said the Supreme Court’s June firearms ruling made them more likely to buy a gun. That rose to 41 percent among Republican respondents and stayed at 26 percent among Democrats. The survey was fielded October 8th through 15th. “One of the most common questions we receive from patients is whether getting a medical card will affect their right to own a firearm,” said Tyler Elson, NuggMD’s director of content. NuggMD sells medical card evaluations. Pew pew, ’Merica. (USA Carry; Marijuana Moment)

CommonWealth Beacon reports that spending on Question 8 reached nearly $6.5 million by the October 15th reporting cutoff. That passes Question 3’s $5.9 million and makes it the costliest question on the November 3rd ballot. Opponents of repeal had spent more than $2.8 million. More than $3.7 million on the repeal side came from SAM Action, the Virginia nonprofit. On Tuesday, the No on 8 campaign announced endorsements from 11 social justice organizations. Among them are the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. “We are grateful to have the support of these social justice organizations,” said campaign chair Ryan Dominguez. A yes vote would repeal adult-use retail sales effective January 1, 2028. It’s a shame that the legal industry, already squeezed, is forced to cover the tab for its own existence. I’m pleased to see a number of other contributors, but the cost is disproportionately borne by the Massachusetts market. SAM is most likely coming for your state next, too. There’s still time to contribute, and there are even more ways to volunteer. The case for voting no is at StoptheRepealMA.com. (CommonWealth Beacon; Cannabis Business Times)

Mayor Michelle Wu appointed Ava Callender Concepcion executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing. She will also chair both the Boston Licensing Board and the Boston Cannabis Board, starting November 4th. She succeeds Kathleen Joyce, who chaired the cannabis board from its start in 2019. Concepcion previously served on the Licensing Board and on the Cannabis Control Commission, where she was acting chair. I wish my former colleague all the best in the new role. She’s a sharp policy mind, a thoughtful leader and uber qualified. (City of Boston; Dorchester Post)

🌻 Kansans favor adult-use legalization 58 to 21 and medical 65 to 15 in a Fort Hays State University Docking Institute survey of 603 adults taken September 23rd through October 16th. A tax-and-regulate model drew 61 percent, and 54 percent of Republicans supported adult use. It’s not exactly breaking news that cannabis is popular with voters. Will it move the Legislature? Doubtful, but you never know. The Senate that has blocked medical cannabis since 2021 was elected to four-year terms in 2024 and isn’t on this ballot. (Marijuana Moment)

Nevada’s Interim Legislative Committee on Revenue reviewed a study that models scrapping the state’s 15 percent wholesale cannabis excise for a retail excise of 12 to 15 percent. Cannabis excise receipts fell about 40 percent from their 2021 peak through 2025. Over roughly the same stretch, flower dropped from $9.02 a gram in 2019 to $4.46, and edibles from $19.77 to $11.81. A move to the register is “not guaranteed it’s going to even out, but the idea is that it should even out,” said Cannabis Compliance Board executive director Michael Miles. No bill has been filed, and the study recommends no rate. Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant’s proposal along these lines failed in 2025. Mature markets should constantly be reassessing. Exploring a change isn’t deciding on one, so what happens next is TBD. Nonetheless, this is hygiene. (MJBizDaily; Nevada Current)

Marijuana Moment counted at least $71,500 in FEC-listed contributions from cannabis executives to the Jeffries Majority Fund. They came in around a September 2nd Capitol Hill fundraiser for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line for the speakership if Democrats win the House. Donors included Kim Rivers of Trulieve, George Archos of Verano and Trent Woloveck of Jushi, along with executives from Proper Cannabis, Story Cannabis and SunMed. Jeffries also attended an October 18th event in Akron for Rep. Emilia Sykes, hosted by Klutch Cannabis CEO Adam Thomarios. One attendee said Jeffries discussed decriminalization for the next Congress. His office didn’t respond. The industry is hedging its bets and hoping Democrats come home in support of cannabis efforts in Congress. Money is certainly the lifeblood of politics, but this industry has been led on before. Plenty of other industries will be deploying the same strategy heading into the midterms and well after. (Marijuana Moment)

🚚 CEO Ari Raptis told CBS Baltimore that Talaria and its cash-transport affiliate National Secure Transport have hired about 300 former police and military personnel. Talaria is a Pennsylvania company that has moved cannabis since 2018. Matthew Dzambo has driven for Talaria for seven months after nearly 30 years with the Baltimore Police Department. “There’s no one I would trust more to be driving our vehicles,” Raptis said. Talaria operates in eight states, and National Secure Transport covers 23. (CBS Baltimore)

NBC26 reports that Wisconsin hemp retailers want state lawmakers to set rules for intoxicating hemp products as the federal definition changes. Wisconsin’s own hemp definition doesn’t automatically follow changes to the federal one. Craig Thrawn, who owns 3 Tall Pines Cannabis Company in Plymouth, put the ask to legislators directly: “tell us what you want, and what you don’t want, so we can continue to grow in this industry.” Senate Bill 681 would have set a minimum purchase age of 21, along with testing, child-resistant packaging, licensing and alcohol-style distribution. It died when the session adjourned in March. (NBC26)

🧑‍⚕️ Monthly cannabis users rated dispensary staff 3.7 out of 5 as a source of information, ahead of healthcare providers at 3.4 and government officials at 2.9. That’s from a NIDA-funded survey of 1,023 people published in Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. For medicinal use, 55 percent picked healthcare providers and 20 percent picked dispensary staff. For use for fun, it flipped: 47 percent picked staff and 4 percent picked providers. This is a sad reality. When it comes to medicine, we need to shift this dynamic to include things like form factor, dosing and interactions with other drugs and treatments. That guidance shouldn’t be a retail priority on the sales floor. (Marijuana Moment)

StratCann reports that Canadian producers selling medical cannabis abroad need a separate Health Canada export permit for every shipment, plus import permission and quality sign-off on the receiving end. Krystine McInnes, a director at Grown Here Farms, said the company began assessing foreign markets about a year ago. It now offers eligible European buyers evaluation lots as small as one kilogram through an authorized import chain. “Finding a buyer was only part of the equation,” she said. Cannara Biotech made its first export sale in October 2023, according to Niko Sosiak. Cannara processes product for export through Curaleaf’s EU-GMP operation in Canada while it seeks certification for its own site in Valleyfield, Quebec. (StratCann)

⚖️ 5 Guys Management dismissed its remaining claims against Redbud Roots with prejudice on Monday after a settlement, closing a federal case in the Western District of Michigan. In 2022, the investor put $1.5 million into a Muskegon dispensary venture for a 23 percent stake. It later alleged that the money was misappropriated. Settlement terms weren’t disclosed. (Bloomberg Law)

🪶 The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association holds its fifth annual policy summit at the Washington Plaza Hotel November 9th through 11th. “Our goal is not simply to be part of the conversation. Indigenous people need to lead it,” said founder Rob Pero. Steph Sherer of Americans for Safe Access gives the keynote. The federal policy session covers DEA scheduling, USDA tribal hemp programs, FDA oversight and cannabis banking. The summit closes on Veterans Day with a briefing honoring Native veterans and meetings on Capitol Hill. (WisPolitics; Cannabis & Tech Today)

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