California Hemp Industry Launches Legal Challenge to Newsom’s THC Ban
Following the enactment of emergency regulations to ban intoxicating hemp products in the state of California, players in the hemp industry filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Public Health to overturn the rules. Now plaintiffs in the lawsuit are requesting a state judge to halt the enforcement of the regulations until a ruling is given by the courts on the matter.
In their suit, the plaintiffs argue that the ban is unlawful and will cause irreversible damage to the nascent hemp industry. The new request argues that allowing the regulations to remain in effect would eliminate almost every ingestible hemp product currently being sold in the state, including the majority of nonintoxicating products. This means that many small businesses will have to halt their operations, which will result in losses worth millions of dollars.
The lawsuit, filed in late September, asserts that the regulations backed by Governor Gavin Newsom are based on a faulty emergency declaration and came after officials failed to implement a legislation to regulate hemp, which was enacted in 2021. The aforementioned legislation would have addressed the issues cited in the emergency regulations.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s general counsel, Jonathan Miller, explained that the state’s latest move violated Californian law as well as federal law. The emergency ban, first unveiled last month, took effect immediately after receiving approval from the Office of Administrative Law. The regulations prohibit the use and sale of any hemp products with any amount of THC. Hemp products that do not contain this compound can only be sold to individuals 21 years of age or older and are limited to 5 servings per package.
By contrast, federal law defines products that contain less than 0.3% of THC as hemp and places no restrictions on them.
The recent lawsuit comes as other states in the country work to impose similar restrictions on cannabinoids in an effort to curb the proliferation of intoxicating products derived from hemp. For example, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey recently signed into law a measure that would place hemp products under the purview of the New Jersey marijuana commission.
In a separate statement, Miller revealed that the plaintiffs were hopeful that the court would permanently prevent these efforts from devastating hemp businesses, farmers and consumers. He added that the time had come for the governor to discuss with stakeholders how to develop a strong regulatory regime that promotes safety and health while preventing minors from accessing hemp products.
A hearing on the proposed temporary restraining order is set for later this week in Los Angeles. The plaintiffs include the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Cheech and Chong’s Global Holdings, Sunflora, Lucy to Be Beverage, Boldt Runners, Blaze Life and Juicetiva.
This patchwork of regulations in different states gives businesses such as Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) more hurdles to navigate as they conduct their legal business activities. A suitable way out would be for the federal government to come up with comprehensive regulations for cannabinoids so that interested parties can have one law to refer to when conducting their operations.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/SFWJ
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the HempWire website applicable to all content provided by HW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.HempWire.com/Disclaimer
Following the enactment of emergency regulations to ban intoxicating hemp products in the state of California, players in the hemp industry filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Public Health to overturn the rules. Now plaintiffs in the lawsuit are requesting a state judge to halt the enforcement of the regulations until a ruling is given by the courts on the matter.
In their suit, the plaintiffs argue that the ban is unlawful and will cause irreversible damage to the nascent hemp industry. The new request argues that allowing the regulations to remain in effect would eliminate almost every ingestible hemp product currently being sold in the state, including the majority of nonintoxicating products. This means that many small businesses will have to halt their operations, which will result in losses worth millions of dollars.
The lawsuit, filed in late September, asserts that the regulations backed by Governor Gavin Newsom are based on a faulty emergency declaration and came after officials failed to implement a legislation to regulate hemp, which was enacted in 2021. The aforementioned legislation would have addressed the issues cited in the emergency regulations.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s general counsel, Jonathan Miller, explained that the state’s latest move violated Californian law as well as federal law. The emergency ban, first unveiled last month, took effect immediately after receiving approval from the Office of Administrative Law. The regulations prohibit the use and sale of any hemp products with any amount of THC. Hemp products that do not contain this compound can only be sold to individuals 21 years of age or older and are limited to 5 servings per package.
By contrast, federal law defines products that contain less than 0.3% of THC as hemp and places no restrictions on them.
The recent lawsuit comes as other states in the country work to impose similar restrictions on cannabinoids in an effort to curb the proliferation of intoxicating products derived from hemp. For example, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey recently signed into law a measure that would place hemp products under the purview of the New Jersey marijuana commission.
In a separate statement, Miller revealed that the plaintiffs were hopeful that the court would permanently prevent these efforts from devastating hemp businesses, farmers and consumers. He added that the time had come for the governor to discuss with stakeholders how to develop a strong regulatory regime that promotes safety and health while preventing minors from accessing hemp products.
A hearing on the proposed temporary restraining order is set for later this week in Los Angeles. The plaintiffs include the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Cheech and Chong’s Global Holdings, Sunflora, Lucy to Be Beverage, Boldt Runners, Blaze Life and Juicetiva.
This patchwork of regulations in different states gives businesses such as Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) more hurdles to navigate as they conduct their legal business activities. A suitable way out would be for the federal government to come up with comprehensive regulations for cannabinoids so that interested parties can have one law to refer to when conducting their operations.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/SFWJ
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the HempWire website applicable to all content provided by HW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.HempWire.com/Disclaimer
