Landmark Court Ruling In AR

Check out the latest legislative updates across the states and take action today!

Arkansas

As we previously reported, a group of plaintiffs recently filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging Arkansas’s new hemp law prohibiting delta-8 THC and similar products. The law, which was enacted by SB 358 earlier this year, was set to go into effect August 1. 

But last week—in a complete win for the plaintiffs—the federal court issued a landmark ruling that temporarily enjoins the law in its entirety. The court made numerous important findings, including that the law is preempted by federal law and is unconstitutionally vague. As a result, the law is temporarily blocked and cannot be enforced by state officials. 

While the State of Arkansas is expected to appeal, the federal court’s decision confirms the protection of legal hemp products in interstate commerce and provides a blueprint for challenging overly restrictive laws in other states. The implications of the federal court’s ruling are significant and expected to reach far beyond Arkansas.

CANNRA Calls On Congress To Address “Unregulated Products” By Redefining Hemp

Possibly in response to developments like the lawsuit in Arkansas, the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) sent a letter to Congress today that recommends language in the 2023 Farm Bill to address what it calls “unregulated” hemp products. CANNRA’s proposed changes would re-write the 2018 Farm Bill to redefine “hemp” – limiting the 0.3% delta-9 THC definition to plants in the field — and potentially ban a range of existing full spectrum and/or potentially impairing hemp products. The Roundtable will be vigilant at helping to ensure that all hemp products are regulated and not criminalized, and that adult products are kept out of the hands of children.

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Check out the latest hemp and CBD updates from across the states!

• 
  Roundtable Roundup: Ohio Bill Would Ban Full Spectrum Hemp, Proposed Illinois Hemp Amendments Raise Concerns on Testing and Transport Restrictions
  Ohio Unfortunately, as we predicted a few weeks ago, the Ohio Senate introduced a bill—SB 326—which would ban all full spectrum hemp products. Specifically, products that contain more than 0.5mg of …
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  Hemp Industry News: U.S. Hemp Authority Webinar Recording, International Hemp Trip, and a USDA Hemp Grant
  We made it! Our USHA webinar went off without a hitch. With over 100 attendees, this was our most successful webinar to date.  Chris Fontes provided an excellent background of …
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  Roundtable Roundup: Updates in Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Louisiana and Tennessee
  Georgia Last month, the Georgia Department of Agriculture proposed changes to existing rules for hemp products, as well as a proposed new rule for consumable hemp products. While many of the changes to the …