NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV/WBIR) – A Tennessee Judge has ordered that hemp products containing THCa will remain available after the Tennessee Department of Agriculture brought forth rules that would’ve made the sale of certain products illegal.
Following a law that was passed in 2023 allowing the state to potentially limit and monitor the sale of hemp products, it also allowed the state’s agriculture department to create rules on what hemp stores were allowed to sell.
Hemp advocates sued the state over the emergency rules that were placed on hemp-derived products. Now, a Tennessee judge has ordered that more information is needed about the products before a decision is made.
The hearing is set for Feb. 18, 2025.
“The Defendant is hereby ORDERED to file additional briefing and affidavits no later than February 5, 2025. Should the Parties choose, they may request live expert testimony pursuant to the Davidson County Local Rules of Court. The February 15, 2025 hearing shall be the final hearing on this declaratory action, therefore if the Parties need additional time to develop the record, they must file a Motion with the Court requesting additional time and a Motion requesting an Expedited Hearing by January I0, 2025,” the order reads.
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You can read the filing below:
In late September, the TDA filed permanent rules for hemp producers, retailers and suppliers of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. One of the new rules includes how the hemp will be tested.
According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, any sample test that exceeds the allowable limit is grounds for embargo, recall, remediation and or destruction of the entire batch represented by the sample.
HDC products in commerce to an HDC supplier licensee must have a sample test result of less than 5% THC value post-decarboxylation.HDC products in commerce to any person who is not an HDC supplier licensee must have a sample test result of less than 0.3% THC value post-decarboxylation.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture sent WSMV4 the following statement back in October:
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture filed permanent rules for hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products on September 27, 2024. These permanent rules go into effect on December 26, 2024.
The Department’s rules are crafted for operation of our regulatory programs for hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products. The Department’s authority for these rules and the allowable limit for THC and required testing method for hemp and hemp-derived products are prescribed by the legislature in state statutes. The permanent rules do not change those laws and the rules regulate, not ban, hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including THCa.
Details and links to the rules, including the Department’s responses to public hearing comments, can be found on the TDA website on the Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids page.
The new rules were set to take effect on Dec. 26, 2024. To read those rules, click here.
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Hemp advocates sued the state over the emergency rules that were placed on hemp-derived products. Read More
