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Several companies have launched a lawsuit against the New Jersey intoxicating hemp Delta-8 THC industry bill ban.
Governor Phil Murphy (D) recently signed the intoxicating hemp Delta-8 THC ban bill that the legislature passed in June. It was notable that Murphy expressed several reservations about it in a signing statement.
The bill would have effectively killed the entire industry 30 days after the law was signed. So that would make it October 12th.
“This will lead to thousands of lost jobs around the state and turn farmers, business owners, and consumers into criminals, despite no change in federal law and despite the protections Congress has afforded them,” the lawsuit says.
Thus, hemp companies want to stop it from going into effect.
It is also likely that the lawsuit was inevitable since the bill was designed to kill most of the New Jersey intoxicating hemp business.
The Farm Bill of 2018 was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by former President Donald Trump. It legalized industrial hemp with a very small amount of Delta-9 THC, the traditional cannabinoid that gets you high from cannabis consumption.
But most of the cannabis plant was undiscovered country. So enterprising scientists explored the cannabis plant and found new cannabinoids that get you high they could emphasize in products. Delta 8-THC is the most prominent, followed by THC-O, THC-A, Delta-10 THC, and many others in the intoxicating hemp industry.
According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the NJ Monitor, the suit was filed by Loki Brands LLC, North Fork Distribution Doing Business As (DBA) Cycling Frog, Cantrip Inc, Alpha Omega Collectis LLC DBA Apollo Sciences, Alternative Health Distribution LLC DBA CannaAid, and M& A LL Holding LLC DBA Legal Leaf New Jersey.
They are suing NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin, Houenou as the NJCRC Chair, and New Jersey Agriculture Commissioner Edward Wengryn.
The lawsuit explains that Cycling Frog is based in Washington State, Canntrip is from Massachusetts, Apollo Sciences is from Colorado, and CannaAid is from North Carolina. So they are all, in effect, a kind of hemp corporation that is a Multi-State Operator (MSO).
Only Loki Brands and Legal Leaf New Jersey say they are based here in Jersey.
The intoxicating hemp lawsuit explains Loki Brands is also an MSO in 34 states.
The suit says Legal Leaf has five locations and sells many hemp products made out of state.
So, they think protecting local companies violates the US Constitution at their expense. The lawsuit does not think the states have the right to regulate hemp.
Hemp companies enjoy operating in a national market that is very different from the state cannabis markets. The intoxicating hemp law essentially wants to stop them from bringing in intoxicating hemp products from other states, which they do not like.
They also do not like how “intoxicating hemp” is defined.
Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that the bill was vaguely worded and once again cited Murphy’s singing statement.
The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) is supposed to regulate hemp now. They have six months to release regulations.
To make matters worse, they have been struggling since 2021 to regulate and establish a cannabis industry.
At every one of their meetings, a cannabis license applicant, often a local and a minority, has complained about their process. Often, they blame the NJCRC inspectors and investigators, who do not attend the meetings, for their slowness or incompetency.
Some are at the breaking point and badly need to open the doors and make money.
Heady NJ has heard that some of their inspectors seem to have different standards.
Murphy himself acknowledged that the NJCRC was given no new resources to accomplish this enormous task.
At their last meeting, NJCRC Chair Dianna Houenou only said they are working with other state agencies to establish New Jersey hemp rules.
The alcohol industry is very interested in maintaining its foothold of intoxicating hemp drinks sold by liquor stores. They are more influential than the cannabis lobbyists who unsuccessfully opposed them. So they were able to stake out a corner the politicians in Trenton allowed. It also become a very profitable industry.
The ban is being challenged in federal court. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court of New Jersey.
Something that has become clear is how divergent the cannabis and hemp industries and operators have become since cannabis legalization occurred in New Jersey in 2021.
Both independent dispensaries and large cannabis corporations that are Multi-State Operators (MSOs) don’t like hemp.
The New Jersey hemp cultivation and manufacturing industries have not developed the way the legal cannabis industry has.
Part of the problem is that because hemp is federally legal, it became a national industry. So hemp companies enjoy operating wherever they can fairly easily. That is in stark contrast to the cannabis industry, which is only legal state by state.
Part of the problem is that a lot of hemp is not well made, and shady gas stations sell very mediocre hemp products that are like snake oil.
However, not all hemp products are snake oil by cheap con men.
The cannabis business interests see Delta 8-THC hemp as a threat to their profits and/or don’t like that hemp companies don’t have many rules to follow, like ensuring every paying customer is 21 years old and up, among others.
With the NJ CannaBusiness Association and the NJ Cannabis Trade Association (NJCTA), the New Jersey cannabis industry is very organized with savvy lobbyists advocating for their cause in the State House in Trenton.
In stark contrast, the hemp industry is not organized, nor does it have many lobbyists.
But they can hire lawyers and sue.
New Jersey is not the only or even the first state to hate hemp. California enacted a similar intoxicating hemp ban recently. Many states have been doing so for a while. Cheech and Chong themselves are leading the California intoxicating hemp lawsuit.
“}]] Several companies have launched a lawsuit against the New Jersey intoxicating hemp Delta-8 THC industry bill ban. Read More