California's ban on intoxicating hemp products, which took effect this week, has formally sparked legal opposition, with the American Hemp Roundtable and several hemp companies filing a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to overturn the new rules.
California Governor Gavin Newsom implemented the ban through new emergency rules through the state Department of Public Health after failing to garner enough votes to pass the bill during the current legislative session. The new rules took effect on Monday and, along with several other new mandates, ban all detectable THC in hemp-derived foods and beverages.
In the 107-page lawsuit, the Hemp Roundtable and other stakeholders, including Cheech & Chong's hemp brand and five other companies, argue that the new emergency regulations overreach and violate both federal and state law.
The lawsuit points out that the California Legislature has already approved a bill, Assembly Bill 45, to regulate hemp products in 2021, and that Governor Newsom's new emergency regulations “go far beyond the limitations contemplated in Assembly Bill 45 to ban all hemp products unless they contain 'detectable levels of THC.'”
“These emergency regulations are expressly contrary to California and federal law,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction blocking the new rules from going into effect and a court order declaring the new rules unconstitutional. The lawsuit claims the companies stand to lose “millions of dollars” if they are prevented from conducting activities they say are federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill.
One of the plaintiffs, Blaze Life, invested $20 million in a new cannabis beverage production facility, the lawsuit noted, adding that the new rules would render the facility, and the other plaintiffs' businesses, “worthless.”
“If the emergency regulations remain in place, they will remove nearly all ingestible cannabis products currently sold in California, including most non-addictive products, although some products subject to the emergency regulations are not even sold in California. Many small businesses will suffer millions of dollars in losses and will be forced to immediately cease operations,” the lawsuit alleges.
“We are confident the Court will find that the Governor falls far short of proving the existence of an 'emergency' and must forestall the devastating harm he would cause to hemp farmers, small businesses and consumers of his product,” Jonathan Miller, an attorney for the Hemp Roundtable, said in an emailed statement.
Miller added that his clients are ready and willing to work with regulators to develop industry rules that support businesses while also protecting minors from alcohol-intoxicating products, a goal expressed by Newsom in his new rules.
The governor's office and the Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Cheech and Chong vs. California over marijuana
