Arizona’s hemp industry this week received a welcome reprieve from an overnight ban on all ‘consumable hemp products’, as the Court of Appeals agreed to consider a collaborative pushback from the industry.
The Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona (HITA) and its legal team, Full Spectrum Law Collective, announced yesterday that their ‘Petition for Special Action’ against last months ruling would be heard by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The Arizona Court of Appeals can step in quickly to resolve an issue that has immediate or widespread implications.
In their filing, HITA argues that the move has already seen ‘businesses shuttering, workers being laid off, and families who depended on the industry for income, insurance and stability’ now caught in ‘legal crossfire they never saw coming’.
With the intervention of the higher court, a ‘stay’ has been granted, meaning the proceedings in the lower court, namely HITA’s legal actipn against the Arizona Attorney General’s Office have been postponed indefinitely.
Our position was strengthened by the stay. Hearing will not be conducted. The Special Action will be the focus of our legal team. We have elevated this matter by filing a Special Action to a court higher than the lower courts that supervises the decisions of the executive agencies, such as the Attorney General’s Office.
In late April, MEDCAN24 It was reported that Maricopa County Superior Court’s Judge Randall Warner refused HITA’s application for a temporary restraint order.
The case had been scheduled to go through a hearing in full on Monday, May 9, where Judge Warner was expected to explain the reasoning for the rejection. However, this date has now been postponed indefinitely as the Appeals Court examines HITA’s petition.
This bill is based on an opinion expressed by Arizona Attorney-General Kris Mayes, in March 2025. He declared that products derived from hemp with high levels of THC, should be treated as cannabis in state law. That means they should only sold in licensed dispensaries.
Arizona retailers had until the 24th of April to remove any products they may have on their shelves. Otherwise, fines as high as $20,000 or even criminal charges could be levied.
“The stay of proceedings was given despite the strong objections from the office of the Attorney-General, who argued it was unlikely that the appeal will succeed”, Sullivan added.
She took the position she did because her goal was to get HITA-AZ dismissing its special appeal and proceeding with a regular appeal in a more reasonable time frame. Court disagreed with Attorney General’s Office, announcing that a delayed decision would protect our position, increase our leverage and ensure our arguments were reviewed by judges who have the necessary mandate to correct government overreach.