MJ Biz
Hemp retailers and growers in Tennessee have filed an 11th-hour legal challenge to halt impending rules that are expected to restrict all THCA products in the state.
The Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association and Tennessee Growers Coalition last week filed complaints against the state’s Department of Agriculture, contending rules requiring hemp product testing conflict with a 2023 law regulating the products, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Under the new rules, which go into effect Dec. 26, the combined THC content of delta-9 and THCA products cannot exceed 0.3%.
That would prohibit the sale of flower containing THCA – the biosynthetic precursor to THC that’s converted when heated – because it wouldn’t pass regulatory testing.
Hemp, which is defined as having no more than 0.3% THC, is federally legal and regulated in Tennessee, but neither medical nor adult-use marijuana is legal in the state.
The legal hemp market in Tennessee is valued somewhere between $200 million and $580 million annually, according to local media reports.
The state Department of Agriculture has already rejected hemp industry appeals of the rules, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
The hemp groups are seeking an immediate preliminary injunction in Davidson County Chancery Court to prevent the rules from taking effect, the Lookout reported.
Tennessee hemp groups seek to halt rules that would prohibit THCA products
SAVE THCA LAWSUIT
December 10, 2024 Update
WE HAVE A NEW COURT DATE! The court date has changed from December 13, 2024 to Monday December 16, 2024! We have filed a second lawsuit with a different argument. The first is about the THCa restrictions and the second is a flower argument. Both arguments will be made on that day. We still are 10K away from our fundraising goal!
Will the Rules go into effect December 26, 2024? They will go into effect IF the lawsuit is still pending in court. We do not expect it to happen, but it is still possible. If we win the injunction we expect the THCa rule to be taken out and re-written. All other rules will still go into effect. There are still two other lawsuits from TN for Healthy Alternatives and a processor. The TN for Healthy Alternatives submitted the same argument as ours, so it will be rolled into ours. We will provide updates as we get them!
The TGC is suing the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) over their restrictive rule that bans the sale of any products containing over 0.3% TOTAL THC (THCa + THC). The industry has been self regulated since 2018 without any major issues. Since July of 2023 over 15 million dollars in tax revenue has been reported from HDC alone. The TDA’s decision to ignore the majority of the 19,000 comments made in opposition of the rules is just one of the many reasons why we are suing them.
The only way to stop these rules is by suing the TDA. NOW is the time to fund the fight to SAVE THCa!
