A STAT News investigation found THC beverages sold across New York City stores in violation of state potency limits, as the D.C. Council unanimously advanced emergency legislation expanding cannabis enforcement authority.
MID-ATLANTIC — July 24, 2026 — Hemp-derived THC beverages are being sold across New York City retail stores at potencies as much as 100 times the state's legal limit for non-dispensary sales, according to a STAT News investigation published July 21, exposing an enforcement gap that persists even as Washington, D.C. moved this week to strengthen its own cannabis enforcement powers.
Under cannabinoid-hemp regulations New York adopted in 2023, THC beverages sold outside licensed dispensaries are capped at 1mg of THC per serving, according to state guidance cited by STAT. But reporters visiting delis, bodegas, and grocery stores across South Brooklyn — some within blocks of schools — found cans from brands including Oasis, Cann, Milonga, Cycling Frog, Tempter's, Gigli, and Mighty Kind containing 5mg to 10mg of THC, with some high-potency products reaching 50mg, 60mg, or 100mg per can. Most of the ten stores visited displayed no signage indicating the drinks were intoxicating and did not request identification at checkout. New York's Office of Cannabis Management did not respond to STAT's request for comment. "It's not allowed," said Christopher Lackner, head of the trade group Hemp Beverage Alliance, "but it's still happening."
In Washington, D.C., the Council voted 13-0 on July 23 to approve the Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026, sponsored by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. The measure, transmitted to Mayor Muriel Bowser the same day for action by August 6, broadens the definition of an "unlicensed establishment" to cover any business selling products containing Schedule I substances, authorizes the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration to summarily close and padlock such businesses without a prior hearing when they pose an imminent public-health risk, and gives ABCA investigators new authority to test products for THC content. The bill also extends conditional medical marijuana licenses from two years to as long as three. Because it is emergency legislation, it would take effect upon Bowser's approval and remain in force for up to 90 days.
Elsewhere in the region, regulatory frameworks remain in motion but unresolved. In Delaware, HB373 — which would let package stores and marijuana retailers sell THC beverages capped at 10mg per single-serving container, 60mg per multi-container package, and 170mg per 750-milliliter bottle — passed the House 38-2 and the Senate 18-3 and was enrolled July 1, but has not yet been signed or vetoed by Gov. Matt Meyer. A competing, more restrictive bill, HB401, which would limit hemp beverage sales to licensed marijuana retailers only, remains in House committee. In Pennsylvania, SB49 — which would create a state Cannabis Control Board and align Pennsylvania's hemp rules with the incoming federal 0.4mg total-THC cap — was defeated on the Senate floor 27-23 on June 10 before a motion to reconsider passed 29-21 the same day; no further floor vote has been scheduled, and sponsor Sen. Dan Laughlin has accused Gov. Josh Shapiro's office of working against the bill, a claim Shapiro's office disputes.
New Jersey's existing framework — signed into law by Gov. Mikie Sherrill on March 30 — already permits ABC- and CRC-licensed retailers to sell THC beverages up to 200mg total THC per 750-milliliter bottle, but that allowance sunsets November 13, 2026. Maryland's Cannabis Administration is taking public comment through July 27 on proposed rules covering labeling, youth-appealing packaging, and a new sublingual-pouch product category. Virginia will impose a new 2mg total-THC-per-package cap on hemp products starting August 15, eliminating a prior exemption for products with a 25-to-1 CBD-to-THC ratio, while also transferring hemp enforcement authority from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to the Cannabis Control Authority. West Virginia reported no hemp beverage developments this week, continuing to permit Delta-9 hemp beverages while restricting Delta-8, Delta-10, and THCA products.
All of it sits under the same federal deadline: a 0.4mg total-THC-per-container cap taking effect November 12, 2026 under H.R. 5371, which trade groups including the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and the Hemp Beverage Alliance are lobbying Congress to delay or soften. New York's enforcement gap and D.C.'s expanded padlock authority both point to the same underlying dynamic heading into that deadline: states are increasingly testing how much muscle they have — or need — to police a beverage category that already outran their existing rules.
Forma works embedded on hemp and THC beverage formulation and commercial scale-up, from compliant dosing and label claims through co-packer qualification. This wire is a byproduct of the same regulatory tracking that informs that work.
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