Marijuana Moment: Hawaii Officials Are Facing A Federal Lawsuit Over Newly Enforced Hemp Product Restrictions

[Tokeativity]

“All of this stuff would be taken off the shelves. This is almost 90 percent of our product line. It will probably destroy our business.”

By Phillip Smith, The American Hemp Monitor

Hawaii will crack down on non-compliant hemp and CBD retailers beginning Wednesday as enforcement of a state law passed last year requiring them to register commences. The law went into effect January 1, but the state gave retailers a grace period before beginning enforcement actions.

So far, only 50 shops have registered, and other hemp businesses have turned to the federal courts. They are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the state from enforcing the law until the issue can be argued before a judge.

“What that’ll do is say, ‘hey, let’s pause the law for a second. Let’s make sure everything’s right, everything’s fair,’ and in our argument, it hasn’t been fair,” said Lance Alyas, one of the plaintiffs in the case and the owner of four hemp and CBD shops.

But state Medical Cannabis Control director Andrew Goff retorted that shop owners had sufficient time to prepare.

“You had time to change your inventory or pivot from whatever industry you want to go into. And I think we’ve given people enough time for that,” Goff said.

Under state law, only products that meet the definition of a “manufactured hemp product” are allowed for sale. Such products must also fully comply with all state regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, total THC limits, lab testing, restrictions on certain ingredients and child-safety packaging and labeling before they can be sold.

Edibles, topicals and beverages are considered “manufactured hemp products” and thus legal (if they meet the other requirements), but vapes, smokeable hemp, and products made with “artificially derived or synthetic cannabinoids,” including those created from CBD, are not.

Also, any “manufactured hemp product” whose THC levels exceed those specified by the state is illegal. Allowable THC levels are capped at 1 milligram per serving and 5 milligrams per package.

“A lot of those products are meant to be intoxicating,” Goff said. “And products like smokables, vapes, those have never been legal under Hawaii law.”

Alyas said he had already removed highly potent synthetic cannabinoid products from his shelves but that he still worried about his remaining product lines.

“These are all naturally derived. So there’s nothing synthetic in it. This is flower, for example. We have gummies. These are specifically for sleep. We’ve got smokables like these,” Alyas said. “All of this stuff would be taken off the shelves. This is almost 90 percent of our product line,” he said. “It will probably destroy our business.”

The hemp retailers are garnering little sympathy from key politicians, such as Rep. Scot Matayoshi (D), chair of the House Consumer Protection Committee.

“If putting these people out of business means getting these products off the streets…that are falling into the hands of kids and that are circumventing our other laws, then they should be out of business,” Matayoshi said.

While enforcement begins on Wednesday, it could be halted on Thursday. That is when a federal judge, who could rule immediately, hears the case.

This story was first published by The American Hemp Monitor.

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