Washington, D.C. hemp retailers are suing the federal government for a budget limitation that prohibits local officials to establish and regulate a retail marijuana marketplace.
Capitol Hemp, a hemp-growing company in Washington D.C. filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Thursday. They were seeking to have a federal court declare that the budget rider of the Congress does not prevent D.C. from adopting hemp legislation.
The District of Columbia continues to enforce hemp laws despite the fact that hemp has been removed from federal Controlled Substances Act. This is despite the District of Columbia not having passed any specific legislation addressing hemp. Capitol Hemp was named as defendant in an unrelated federal case “as a result of this enforcement,” according to the company’s lawsuit.
It is based on the Harris Rider, an old ban that has prevented Washington, D.C. for many years from creating a system regulated marijuana sales to adults. This lawsuit was named in honor of Rep. Andy Harris(R-MD) who was the driving force behind Washington, D.C.’s initial marijuana ban. Last year it was extended after attempts were made to repeal the provision.
Capitol Hemp is asking the court to declare the language of the Harris amendment “unconstitutionally vague” because it employs the term “tetrahydrocannabinols derivative,” which the company asserts is “lacking any established statutory definition or limiting principle.”
It further says the federal restriction’s reference to “any Schedule I substance…or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative” is “ambiguous and unworkable” when read in conjunction with D.C.’s Controlled Substances Act.
According to the complaint, this situation “creates a ambiguous standard and is unworkable, which prevents the district from determining what substances it can lawfully regulate.”
Capitol Hemp argues, specifically, that, if all THC is included in the federal prohibition, “it could be construed as a bar to the District’s ability to regulate, or to clarify, the status of legal hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 THC.”
Politico reported the suit earlier. Both federal and state legislators are increasingly cracking down on hemp-based intoxicants, some of which contain THC levels as high as those found in state-regulated cannabis products. The situation—which many have called a loophole resulting from the 2018 Farm Bill’s legalization of hemp nationwide—has raised broad public health concerns, in large part because the products are often untested and easily available to minors.
At the state level, multiple states—from California to Florida—have moved to ban intoxicating cannabinoids in recent months. In Texas, the legislature recently delivered a bill to the governor that would outlaw all consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing any detectable THC.
A powerful GOP House committee amended recently a bill that contained provisions which hemp stakeholder say will upend the entire industry. It is stated in the report that the panel has no intention to outlaw non-intoxicating hemp products that have “trace” or “insignificant” amounts of THC, which were made legal by federal law during the Trump Administration.
Harris, meanwhile—namesake of the Harris rider at issue in the current suit—complained at the hearing that the Farm Bill “has resulted in the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products, including delta-8 and hemp flower, being sold online and in gas stations nationwide under the false guise of being ‘USDA approved.'”
Harris: “Many states are now taking action to prevent these harmful project products reaching children and consumers. It’s high time Congress acted to close this gap while protecting the industrial hemp industry.” The reports that this language will destroy legitimate business are not true. Anyone who reads the carefully drafted text can see that.
The bill language would effectively ban the hemp products that are most widely marketed in the industry. This is because even the non-intoxicating CBD products, which are sold all over the United States, contain trace levels of THC. These products can only be sold under current law if they do not contain more than 0.3% THC dry weight.
Jonathan Miller of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable said to MEDCAN24, that new report language does not fully address industry concerns. He pointed out that this “has no legal binding effects, which is particularly important since, in recent years, [the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] Has consistently ignored report language in relation to hemp and CBD.”
The hemp language is largely consistent with appropriations and agriculture legislation that was introduced, but not ultimately enacted, under the last Congress.
Hemp industry participants rallied to oppose that proposal. A previous version of the bill was included in last year’s base bill by the subcommittee. It’s virtually identical to a provision of the 2024 Farm Bill that was attached by a separate committee last May via an amendment from Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), which was also not enacted into law.
This latest spending bill has a few differences from the previous version, such as what amounts of THC are considered “quantifiable”. Hemp products would be banned unless they meet this new definition.
It is now stated that the quantifiable amounts are “based on the substance, manufacturing, or articles (as decided by Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Agriculture)” as opposed to the previous definition which was a simple amount “determined by Secretary and Secretary of Health and Human Services”.
In the new proposed legislation, it is also specified that “the term hemp” does not refer to any drug which has been approved by the FDA under the subsections (c), (j) and section 505 (21 U.S.C. This appears to be a way of making an exception for FDA-approved drugs like Epidiolex that is synthesized using CBD.
A leading alcohol industry association, meanwhile, has called on Congress to dial back language in the House spending bill that would ban most consumable hemp products, instead proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items.
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) President and CEO Francis Creighton said in a press release on Thursday that “proponents and opponents alike have agreed that this language amounts to a ban.”
He stated that “by pushing a rapidly developing industry into the darkness, Congress creates even more chaos in a marketplace. It undermines state initiatives and penalizes responsible actors.” “We ask the House of Representatives to reconsider their approach. States can safely regulate intoxicating product through effective systems that protect consumer confidence and public safety. Congress should follow the states’ lead rather than overrule them.
Members of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) also met with lawmakers and staffers in April to advocate for three key policy priorities that the group says is based on “sound principles of alcohol distribution.” The group also met with lawmakers and staffers in April to advocate for three key policy priorities that are based on “sound principles of alcohol distribution.”
Separately, key GOP congressional lawmakers—including one member who supports marijuana legalization—don’t seem especially concerned about provisions in a new spending bill that would put much of the hemp industry in jeopardy by banning most consumable products derived from the plant.
Miller at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told congressional lawmakers in April that the market is “begging” for federal regulations around cannabis products.
Rep. James Comer asked at the hearing if “a million bureaucrats working from home” were needed to control cannabinoids like CBD.
A report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) last year called cannabis a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.
Last November, meanwhile, a beer industry trade group put out a statement of guiding principles to address what it called “the proliferation of largely unregulated intoxicating hemp and cannabis products,” warning of risks to consumers and communities resulting from THC consumption.
Please read the complete complaint below.
The Attorneys General group hosts a meeting on state-level regulation of intoxicating hemp products