Massachusetts Regulators Hear Chapter 65 Rules Ahead of Hemp Study

NORTHEAST, August 1, 2026: The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission took public testimony Thursday on the emergency regulations it issued under Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2026, the cannabis modernization law that also obliges the commission to deliver recommendations on regulating the state's hemp-derived cannabinoid market by December 15.

The hearing convened at 10 a.m. at Worcester Union Station and remotely, and covered impacts of the emergency rules to 935 CMR 500 and 935 CMR 501, according to the commission's meeting notice, which was posted July 14. Those rules raise the adult-use retail license ownership cap from three to six and reflect an increase in daily purchase limits from one ounce to two, both on deadlines Chapter 65 set when it was signed April 19.

Chapter 65 separately directs the commission to study testing requirements and standards, age restrictions and safeguards against underage access, retail sales and taxation rules, and approaches used in other states, and to report by December 15. That study is the mechanism most likely to resolve the disputed retail status of hemp-derived beverages in Massachusetts, which sit outside the state's licensed cannabis channel without a dedicated framework.

In New Hampshire, the public record on SB624 is in conflict. LegiScan lists the measure, which would cap finished hemp-derived products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container and takes effect January 1, 2027, as having completed its legislative progression on a July 9 action. No signing announcement for the bill appears among Gov. Kelly Ayotte's published bill-signing releases for the period.