The hemp gummies company owned by cannabis community icons Cheech and Chong has filed a lawsuit against California’s ban on hemp THC products, calling the action a “draconian regulation” that violates the Constitution and state and federal law. Several other hemp companies and an industry trade group joined the legal actions against the emergency regulations, which were issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) earlier last month and went into effect on September 23.
The emergency regulations prohibit consumable hemp products from containing any detectable levels of delta-9 THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC and THC-O. The new rules also limit consumable hemp products to five servings per package and restrict the sale of such products to consumers aged 21 and older.
The CDPH and California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the new emergency rules after legislation to regulate intoxicating hemp products, AB 2223, failed to gain the approval of the California legislature earlier this year. The bill expanded on legislation passed in 2021, AB 45, that required hemp companies to register with the government and mandated that products be tested by an independent laboratory to ensure they have no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC. In a press release, Newsom said the regulations are needed to keep intoxicating hemp products away from minors.
“We will not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores,” Newsom said in a September 6 statement. “We’re taking action to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products.”
Newsom said that the ban, which expires in March 2025, is an “interim” measure that would address bad actors while lawmakers develop new regulatory legislation, according to a report from The Hill.
Hemp Industry Opposes Emergency Regulations
The emergency regulations are opposed by representatives of California’s hemp industry, who maintain that the rules deny access to CBD products that are being used therapeutically by residents of the state every day. Opponents also fear the new rules threaten the viability of California’s growing hemp industry, including growers and small business owners who retail hemp products across the state.
On September 24, the industry trade group the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and several hemp businesses including Cheech and Chong’s Global Holdings, the company owned by legendary comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, filed a lawsuit against the CDPH in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Other plaintiffs in the suit to block the regulations include Juicetiva, Blaze Life, Boldt Runners, Lucky to be Beverage, and Sunflora.
“Significantly, at the core of the Department’s emergency regulations is a provision that goes far beyond the limits contemplated in AB45 to ban all hemp products unless they contain no ‘detectable levels of THC,’” the lawsuit maintains, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle. “This draconian regulation alone will essentially devastate an emerging industry that consists largely of small business owners. It’s akin to requiring candy to stop containing sugar.”
The legal action seeks a declaration from the court that the emergency regulations are invalid because they violate state and federal law, the U.S. Constitution, and the California Constitution. The 107-page complaint also seeks temporary and permanent injunctions against enforcing the emergency regulations.
Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said that “Newsom’s misguided efforts to destroy a thriving hemp industry – one that he helped create in signing AB 45 three years ago – clearly violate state and federal law.”
“We are confident that the courts will agree that the Governor does not come close to demonstrating an ‘emergency’ exists, and the devastation that he would unleash on hemp farmers, small businesses, and product consumers must be forestalled,” Miller said in an emailed statement. “We are hopeful that once relief is granted, the Governor will finally meet with the hemp industry to appropriately address his stated mission: to develop a robust regulatory regime that promotes health and safety and keeps hemp products out of the hands of minors.”
Congress legalized hemp with the 2018 Farm Bill, defining the crop as cannabis plants with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. Since then, hemp products have become popular across the country, with gummies, vapes, and other products with intoxicating cannabinoids including delta-8 available at unregulated retailers such as convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops.
Learn more about the difference between hemp and CBD, or brush up on your state's cannabis laws and regulations.
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