Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health over emergency restrictions on cannabis products that contain detectable levels of THC. They argue that outlawing the psychoactive cannabinoids/compounds found in cannabis and cannabis products is like suddenly banning sugar from being added to candy.
“Inaction over the past three years is not sufficient grounds to suddenly declare a state of emergency and avoid the usual thoroughness of rulemaking,” Tuesday's filing said. “This is the equivalent of demanding that candy no longer contain sugar starting tomorrow.”
The comedy duo's spat comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed blanket ban went into effect on Monday, less than three weeks after he proposed a temporary ban on Sept. 6.
For the record, in case you're wondering why hemp and not marijuana is the issue, according to Healthline, the two names are just different names for the same flowering plant, which is in the Cannabaceae family. But the two are treated differently in court due to their different THC levels. Hemp is used to refer to cannabis with 0.3% THC or less by dry weight, while marijuana or weed is defined to refer to cannabis with more than 0.3% THC by dry weight.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by TheWrap, several cannabis and hemp industry leaders, including Juicyba, Blaze Life and Bolt Runners, join Cheech and Chong in questioning the state's decision. The companies argue that the prohibition is based on a false claim of an “emergency” and that the state's move is actually the result of lawmakers' failure to implement AB 45, a proposed cannabis regulation bill in the California Assembly that became law on October 6, 2021.
“In 2021, the California Legislature passed AB 45 to address a wide range of issues related to the regulation of hemp products in California,” the lawsuit states. “While adopting detailed definitions of 'industrial hemp products,' 'hemp products,' and 'THC or equivalent cannabinoids,' AB 45 did not distinguish between intoxicating and non-intoxicating cannabinoids,” the lawsuit states. It adds that AB 45, which is “now codified in various sections of the California Health and Safety Code,” also addresses the manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, offering, advertising, and sale of hemp products.
The lawsuit further states that AB 45's broad outlines could not realistically cover “many practical details,” and as a result, AB 45 ultimately authorized the California Department of Public Health to “promulgate regulations necessary to govern the provisions of the California Health and Safety Code, its limitations, restrictions, and other details related to the sale of cannabis.” But as part of those regulations, procedures should be in place to ensure those rules are “authorized and appropriate,” the lawsuit states. California had “nearly three years” to address the issue, but never did, the groups say.
“The essence of the Department's emergency regulations is a provision that goes far beyond the limits contemplated in AB 45 and bans all hemp products unless they contain detectable levels of THC. This draconian regulation will essentially decimate a nascent industry comprised primarily of small business owners,” the lawsuit states.
In conclusion, the document states that the department has “acted completely outside the bounds of applicable California law” in adopting and issuing these regulations, adding that the ban will cause cannabis businesses to lose “millions of dollars in existing products and the pending manufacture and future sale of cannabis and cannabis products that legally contain THC under current California and federal law, but are prohibited overnight by the emergency regulations.”
Marin and Chong plan to move forward by filing a separate petition seeking a temporary injunction, aiming to block the THC ban until the state can sort out and outline the AB 45 process.
Pamela Sherrin contributed to this report.
