Hemp advocates filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court late Tuesday challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Sept. 6 emergency order against illegal hemp products.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a trade group, filed suit to block the ban on hemp-derived products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids such as THC, the psychoactive compound that provides users with a “high.”
There are six other plaintiff’s in the legal complaint filed against the state including Cheech and Chong Global Holdings, the cannabis company of 1970s comedy duo Cheech and Chong. The Nevada-based firm specializes in hemp-derived THC beverages.
The emergency regulations are intended to pause sales of THC-laced hemp in stores or other retailers until legislation offers a long-term solution. The rules, which went into effect Sept. 23, also impose an age restriction on anyone under 21 years old buying hemp food products.
California Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, has pledged to reintroduce legislation in the next session, after Assembly Bill 2223, written to regulate the field, failed in the Appropriations Committee in the last session Aug. 31.
Cannabis and hemp advocates in the North Bay reacted to the legal filing.
“We have a very good chance as this was done improperly,” said Patrick Shatzer, senior manager of regulatory affairs for Sunmed CBD, with retail outlets in Petaluma, Lafayette and Concord.
Shatzer signaled he’d rather work on another bill with Curry, whom he says “cares” about the industry.
“This emergency order is ridiculous and is ruining the industry,” he said.
Mercy Wellness CEO Brandon Levine, who runs dispensaries in Sonoma County, expressed his support for hemp reform.
“Other states have implemented bans. I believe we should have a chance to put regulations on it because it’s a bit out of control,” he said.
The state’s departments of Public Health and Cannabis Control, along with a grower’s group, declared its support for hemp reform.
“Intoxicating industrial hemp products can cause illness and injury to California consumers,” Public Health Director Tomas Aragon said in a statement. Aragon had the backing of the Public Health Institute.
“We are deeply dismayed by the hemp industry’s lawsuit to block California’s emergency regulations,” Institute Senior Adviser Dr. Lynn Silver said. “This legal action is yet another blatant attempt by the hemp industry to prioritize profit over public health.”
But hemp advocates lament that removing their products from shelves, regardless of the level of THC is in them, will severely harm the $250 million industry and restrict access to “therapeutic CBD products.” They have also referred to the cannabis industry as failing, questioning why they would want to be lumped into the same arena.
The lawsuit objects to the moratorium which hemp advocates claim violates the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill allowing for the sale of hemp. One sticking point lies with what constitutes an acceptable level of THC.
The lawsuit also takes issue with the state over the intent of Assembly Bill 45, which Newsom signed into law in October 2021. It was designed as a legal pathway for hemp derivatives to be sold in food, beverages and a variety of products across the state.
“Gov. 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,” Roundtable General Counsel Jonathan Miller said in a statement. “We are confident that the courts will agree that the governor does not come close to demonstrating an ‘emergency’ exists.”
Since AB 45 became law, the number of hemp products has increased, prompting cannabis businesses competing with hemp to voice objections. The cannabis industry is regulated, taxed and offered out of registered dispensaries and cannabis advocates say they want an even playing field.
California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) spokeswoman and lobbyist Amy O’Gorman Jenkins said: “As one of the stakeholders and coalition partner who debated AB 45, we weren’t talking about intoxicating (hemp) products containing THC. There was no way the CCIA would have cosponsored a bill like that.”
The legal complaint clarifies “the plaintiffs do not oppose fair and reasonable regulations for intoxicating hemp-derived THC products (and) to increase the age restrictions.
To that, O’Gorman Jenkins has agreed CCIA would be open to revisiting Curry’s expected legislative reiteration.
“We’re open to discussing new pathways,” she said.
The governor’s office has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Sam Rodriguez, policy director for Good Farmers, Great Neighbors, agrees with the state’s action, contending these THC-laced hemp products are too easy to get.
“I found these hemp-infused THC products — beverages and gummies being sold at a beverage store in Corte Madera,” he said, providing a photo. He added the store is five blocks from a school.
“These rules are a critical step in ensuring the products in the marketplace align with the law’s original intent,” Nicole Elliott, director of the California Department of Cannabis Control, said in a statement. “We are committed to working with our state partners to enforce state law.”
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