Judge Gives Tennessee Hemp Industry More Time Before Statewide Product Ban Takes Effect


In dispute are guidelines, formulated by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, to require new testing of hemp merchandise for delta-9 THC.

By Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout

The sale of popular hemp products will remain legal in Tennessee till at the least June, when a authorized problem to state guidelines that might outlaw many best-selling merchandise goes to trial in Nashville.

The determination represents a six-month reprieve for Tennessee’s burgeoning hemp business, which has grown to an estimated $280 million to $560 million in annual gross sales for the reason that merchandise have been legalized almost six years in the past, in keeping with business survey knowledge.

In dispute are guidelines, formulated by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, to require new testing of hemp merchandise for delta-9 THC.

Two business teams, the Tennessee Growers Coalition and the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association, argued that the principles, set to enter impact December 26, represented company overreach and would result in the ban of merchandise that haven’t been outlawed by the Tennessee General Assembly.

State attorneys argued the agriculture company is properly inside its rights to set sure limits on chemical compounds present in hemp.

Days earlier than the principles have been set to take impact, Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles issued a short lived injunction till February 18. That injunction will now stay in impact till trial, scheduled for June 5.

Hemp is a hashish plant that has been legally out there in Tennessee for the reason that Legislature first permitted its manufacturing, possession and sale in 2019.

It’s distinguished from marijuana by its focus of a compound often known as delta-9 THC. Cannabis with a focus of lower than 0.3 % delta-9 THC is outlined as authorized hemp in Tennessee—and federally. Cannabis with concentrations better than 0.3 % is classed as marijuana and is against the law to develop, promote or possess in Tennessee.

Hemp flowers additionally comprise THCA, a nonintoxicating acid that has not been outlawed in Tennessee. When heated or smoked, nevertheless, the THCA within the plant converts into delta-9 THC—an unlawful substance in Tennessee when it’s current in better than hint quantities. The new guidelines would require testing for the delta-9 THC produced when THCA is heated.

This story was first published by Tennessee Lookout.

Tennessee Officials Will Pay $735,000 To Settle Lawsuit Over Seizure Of Legal Hemp Products

Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.

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