Hemp group sues state over emergency THC ban

The ink was barely dry on Gov. Gavin Newsom's ban on hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, when a lawsuit was drafted.

Several hemp companies led by industry organization U.S. Hemp Roundtable said they sued the California Department of Public Health in Los Angeles County on Tuesday alleging that the new emergency regulations violate state and federal laws, and make large parts of California's hemp industry illegal.

U.S. Hemp Roundtable's general counsel, Jonathan S. Miller, said Newsom's efforts will destroy California's multi-billion-dollar hemp industry, which boomed after he signed AB 45 in 2021.

"The law is quite clear that the governor's agency has not met its burden demonstrating that there is an emergency," Miller said. "The irreparable harm on our industry would be considerable. It would shut it down ... which is another reason that it should go through the standard regulatory process." Miller is office partner-in-charge with Frost Brown Todd LLP.

The organization seeks a declaration that the emergency regulations are invalid, and a temporary and permanent injunction restraining the defendants from enforcing the regulations.

THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in hemp products.

Newsom and the California Department of Public Health on Sept. 6 unveiled emergency regulations aimed at curbing hemp use among minors by prohibiting the sale of food, beverage and dietary products derived from industrial hemp that contain any amount of THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids. The 2018 Farm Bill removed THC from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and legalized a THC concentration of up to .03%.

Newsom stated that he was taking this emergency step after his preteen son told him that his friends had purchased such products at the grocery store. Newsom said at a news conference, "We will not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores. We're taking action to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products."

U.S. Hemp Roundtable's lawsuit was not unexpected.

The organization submitted comments 10 days after Newsom's announcement. The group argued that the emergency regulations were illegal because they violated the Administrative Procedure Act. They said the regulations would also devastate hemp farmers and small businesses, and deny the state millions of dollars of tax revenues. Consumers who rely on these products for health reasons would also be harmed, according to the group.

The group's website has a pre-filled form letter to the Office of Administrative Law encouraging users to share how the regulations would impair their farm, business and/or well-being.

A stamped copy of the complaint was unavailable at press time.