A field of hemp or cannabis, grown increasingly as a mainstream crop in the UK and used for a ... [+]
A Tennessee judge has temporarily blocked new hemp testing regulations that were set to take effect last week, which could ban products legally sold in the state since 2019.
Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles issued the temporary injunction on December 23, pausing the rules until February 18 to allow further review, as first reported by Tennessee Lookout.
Chancellor Myles stressed that expert testimony and further evidence were necessary regarding the propriety, reasonableness, and lawfulness of the regulations, which included the new threshold restrictions on the levels of THC and THCa found in hemp-derived products.
At stake is the sale of hemp products, which have been legally available since 2019.
The new regulations call for hemp products to be tested for their TCHA content, a compound found in all hemp plants that turns into THC when heated or smoked.
Those regulations would make many hemp products illegal and decimate the state’s growing hemp industry, according to associations and companies.
Industry groups said the Tennessee Department of Agriculture overstepped its authority, as the state legislature never intended to outlaw the products in question, which have been legally sold for years.
Specifically, the plaintiffs in the case against the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, including the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association, Tennessee Grower Coalition, CBD Plus USA, and Gold Spectrum CBD, said the new rules that would govern the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products would go so far as to effectively ban sales of products not meeting the new limits on THCa concentration.
They say such regulations unfairly target “mere hemp” and “raw hemp flower” that should not be burdened with such strict testing.
The plaintiffs also say that the rules would cause immediate and irreparable damages to their business, given that the financial impact is agreed upon even by the Department.
The ruling, therefore, leaves the status quo in place while the court considers two legal challenges to the rules, contending they overstep the Department of Agriculture’s authority and put a healthy industry at risk.
Hemp Industry In Tennessee
The 2018 federal Farm Bill and companion legislation passed in Tennessee legalized hemp and its derivatives and distinguished the crop from marijuana.
Since that time, the change in regulation has contributed to a rapidly expanding Tennessee HDC industry that now generates up to $560 million in annual sales and supports thousands of jobs, according to the plaintiffs.
In 2023, the Tennessee legislature moved to further regulate and tax hemp products, leaving rulemaking to the Department of Agriculture.
However, proposed rules targeting THC and THCa limits and raw hemp flower have engendered considerable backlash.
The plaintiffs say the measures overreach and could devastate an industry vital to Tennessee’s economy.
The temporary injunction issued by Chancellor Myles granted a stay of execution, allowing the industry to stay as it currently is until the court determines whether or not these rules meet both legislative intent and economic realities.
Looming large in the controversy is the Department’s intention to test for THCa.
The plaintiffs said the rules would serve to criminalize products the legislature has not outlawed, resulting in business closures and layoffs.
The injunction by Chancellor Myles was to preserve the status quo in the industry until clarity is sought on how testing will be done and statutory definitions are determined.
Chancellor Myles said that the court needs additional understanding of the proposed testing.
Both sides will file more briefs before a hearing in February when the court will rule on whether the rules are lawful or not.
For the immediate future, Tennessee’s hemp industry has a reprieve.
