Juneau, AK: A federal court judge has rejected arguments that state regulations restricting the sale of hemp-derived intoxicating products violate federal law.
The ruling, issued by a US District Court judge for the District of Alaska, finds that the state-imposed restrictions “are consistent with the 2018 Farm Act.” In 2023, state regulators restricted the sale of hemp-derived products solely to state-licensed cannabis dispensaries. (Alaska legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes in 2014.)
In his ruling, the judge opined that the 2018 federal law provides states, not the federal government, with “primary regulatory authority” over matters specific to “the production and sale of industrial hemp … within their borders.” Therefore, the court determined that Alaska’s regulations “are not preempted by the 2018 Farm Act.”
Earlier this year, judges for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld restrictions imposed upon hemp-derived products in Virginia. Judges similarly determined, “Despite the 2018 Farm Bill, the states retain a significant role in the regulation of hemp” and that the Bill “expressly permit[s] states to regulate the production of hemp more stringently than federal law.”
In recent years, unregulated manufacturers have engaged in synthesizing hemp-derived CBD into a variety of novel intoxicating products. This synthetic conversion process often involves the use of potentially dangerous household products. Lab analyses of unregulated products containing delta-8-THC and similar compounds often find them to contain lower levels of cannabinoids than what is advertised on the products’ labels. Some products also possess heavy metal contaminants and unlabeled cutting agents. Other novel compounds, like THC-O, have not been tested for safety in human trials.
The case is AK Industrial Hemp Association et al. v. Alaska Department of Natural Resources.