Yo, peeps! Listen up! There’s some serious drama goin’ down in Arkansas. A bunch of hemp businesses ain’t happy about a new law that’s tryna ban certain cannabinoids, includin’ delta-8 THC. They filed a lawsuit in federal court, claimin’ that this law violates the 2018 Farm Bill. They want an injunction to stop this ban from goin’ into effect on August 1. Shit’s gettin’ real!
So, this law called Act 629 is tryna shut down the production and sale of products with delta-8, delta-9, and delta-10 THC, and other variations of cannabinoids in Arkansas. Now, here’s the thing, these products been legal since 2018 under federal law when the Farm Bill said hemp with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC is all good. But even though delta-9 THC is low in these products, there can still be other psychoactive cannabinoids extracted from hemp or made in a lab.
Now let’s talk about the players in this game. We got four main homies who filed the lawsuit: Bio Gen, LLC of Fayetteville; Drippers Vape Shop, LLC of Greenbrier; The Cigarette Store LLC of Colorado (it goes by Smoker Friendly); and Sky Marketing Corporation of Texas (they call themselves Hometown Hero). These guys are manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers of hemp products that would be screwed over by this ban. They say this law ain’t right and it violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce and supremacy clauses along with the 2018 Farm Bill.
The plaintiffs are pissed because this law messes with their ability to transport hemp-derived cannabinoid products through Arkansas. This ain’t cool, man! They just tryna do their thang within the bounds of federal law. But Arkansas is like, “Nah, we don’t want your delta-8 THC up in here.” It’s a clear violation, bros.
Now, here’s some tea for ya. Last year, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made a ruling in a trademark case that said delta-8 THC is totally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. They were like, “Look, Congress made this law and if they accidentally made delta-8 THC legal, then it’s up to them to fix their mistake.” Bam! So, these hemp businesses got a legit argument that this ban is straight-up unconstitutional.
But wait, there’s more. The defendants in this lawsuit include the state of Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (yup, she used to work at the White House), Attorney General Tim Griffin, and a whole bunch of other state agencies. Everybody’s gettin’ dragged into this mess.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs is Abtin Mehdizadegan, and he says his clients tried to avoid goin’ to court. They had talks with the defendants during the legislative session and even testified before a House Subcommittee. They wanted to work things out, but Arkansas wasn’t havin’ it. So now they’re takin’ it to federal court and askin’ for an injunction. They just want the law blocked so they can do their thang with hemp-derived products.
Cynthia Cabrera from Hometown Hero CBD is one of the plaintiffs too, and she’s speakin’ out about how this ban is hurtin’ small businesses. She’s sayin’ that all these people who put their blood, sweat, and tears into buildin’ their hemp businesses are gettin’ screwed over by this ban. It ain’t right, man!
But here’s somethin’ you need to know. Act 629 also has some regulations in case the ban gets struck down by the courts. These regulations would require permits for wholesalers, distributors, and retailers of psychoactive hemp-derived cannabinoids. They gotta pay $5,000 a year for that permit. And they can only sell the cannabinoids, they can’t mix ’em with any other stuff. The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are also takin’ issue with these regulations, sayin’ they’re unfair and a takin’ of their legal property.
So, that’s the story, my peeps. Arkansas hemp businesses are fightin’ back against this ban on delta-8 THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids. They’re sayin’ it violates federal law and the Constitution. They just want to keep doin’ their thing and have sensible regulations. Let’s see how this drama unfolds. Stay tuned!