Tennessee : Judge temporarily blocks new rules that would have banned popular hemp products

This story has been updated with comment from the Department of Agriculture received after publication.

A Nashville judge has temporarily blocked new state product testing rules, scheduled to take effect this week, that would have banned the sale of popular hemp products legally sold in Tennessee since 2019.

In a decision late Monday, Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles issued a temporary injunction blocking the rules until Feb. 18. Myles ruled the pause would give her a chance to gain “additional understanding of the proposed testing” before making a final ruling on a pair of legal challenges contesting the rules.

The decision represents a temporary reprieve for Tennessee’s hemp industry, which generates an estimated $280-$560 million in annual sales, according to survey data cited in legal documents.

Hemp retailers and producers argued new testing rules, developed by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, would have led — overnight— to store closures and employee layoffs. They also argued the rules represent overreach by a state agency, which developed rules that would criminalize the sale of products the Tennessee Legislature has not voted to outlaw.

The rules were originally set to take effect Dec. 26.

Two industry groups — Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association and Tennessee Growers Coalition — filed separate legal challenges to the rules in recent weeks.

At issue in legal challenges to the new rules is the agriculture department’s plan to conduct, for the first time, testing on hemp products for a substance known as THCA, a naturally occurring acid in all hemp plants. THCA is also a legal substance in Tennessee. When heated or smoked, however, it converts into THC, an active ingredient in marijuana, which is illegal to possess or sell in Tennessee.

Alex Little, an attorney representing the Tennessee Growers Coalition, said Monday he was “pleased the court recognized the significant questions about the legality of the Department’s hemp flower and THCA ban, which jeopardized legitimate businesses and jobs statewide.”

“This injunction prevents immediate harm during the holidays and ensures consumers can continue accessing these hemp products,” he said.

In a statement released through its attorney, Alex Carver, the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association said it was “grateful” for the temporary injunction.

“The Department of Agriculture wants to unilaterally outlaw the most popular legal hemp products in Tennessee, those containing THCa,” the statement said.

“The Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association did not want to sue the Department, but it could not stand by in the face of such a decision. The Department’s rules outlaw products our elected officials in the General Assembly expressly legalized and would force mass layoffs and business closures among our members.”

A statement from the Department of Agriculture said “we respect the court’s decision and look forward to reaching a final resolution of these matters.”