Hemp Industry News

Cannabis Company Files Unfair Trade Practice Suit Against Hemp THC Retailers

Published

10 months ago

August 29, 2025

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Cannabis Company Files Unfair Trade Practice Suit Against Hemp THC Retailers

A Multistate Cannabis -based cannabis operator has filed a lawsuit claiming that smoke stores and other hemp products sellers engage in unfair trading practices that underestimate cannabis legal industry, The Philadelphia Inquirer Reports.

The complaint was filed Wednesday by some of Jushi Holdings Inc. based on Scranton, which operates 18 cannabis Stores in the state.

Adult use cannabis remains prohibited in Pennsylvania. However, as in many other countries, the federal legalization of industrial hemp-and the subsequent spread of intoxicating hemp products, called “weeds of fuel station” in complaints-led to a gray, hemp-based, thing-based market.

“The influx of these illegal products to unregulated retail channels directly undermines the regulated Commonwealth Medical Marijuana program. This grant scheme (smoke stores) a considerable and illegal economic advantage, shifts compliance loads to legitimate operators, endangers public health and destabilizes the regulated market.” – fragment from the lawsuit

Lawmakers at Pennsylvania’s house this year approved a bill for legalization of cannabis for adult use but proposal died soon in the Senate.

Meanwhile, four of the five neighboring Pennsylvania-New York states, New Jersey, Maryland and Ohio and neighboring Canada have adopted all policies to legalize and regulate adult use cannabis.

Center in Portland, Oregon, Graham is the lead editor of Ganjapreneur. He has written about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has contributed to Ganjapreurur since our official beginning in …
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North Carolina Bill Would Set Age Requirement for Hemp Products

Published

35 minutes ago

June 14, 2026

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North Carolina Bill Would Set Age Requirement for Hemp Products

A new North Carolina Senate proposal would create a 21-year-old age requirement for purchasing or possessing hemp products, including foods and beverages infused with delta-8 or delta-9. WRAL News reports.

Bipartisan Senate Bill 59 passed the House Rules Committee on Wednesday. The proposal would also set the age requirement for purchasing kratom at 21.

The issue is popular with both Republicans and Democrats, and Gov. Josh Stein (D) has also called for better regulation of the products, but previous efforts have failed.

“We have the good sense to put an age limit on these types of products, which is the lowest hanging fruit there is.” — Rep. state Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R), in a statement to the House Agriculture and Environment Committee

A spokesman for the governor’s office said the administration is reviewing the bill.

“Earlier this year, the NC Cannabis Advisory Council issued an interim report with informed guidance to the General Assembly to address the unregulated sale of cannabis in North Carolina, including recommending a minimum age requirement,” the spokesperson said in the report. “The governor is eager to work with the Legislature to protect our children and bring order to this Wild West marketplace.”

If passed into law, the age limit would go into effect on December 1, 2026.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is the editor-in-chief of Ganjapreneur. He has been writing about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has contributed to Ganjapreneur since our official launch in…
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O’ahu Business Sues Hawaii Over State Hemp Laws

Published

1 week ago

June 5, 2026

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O’ahu Business Sues Hawaii Over State Hemp Laws

An O’ahu, Hawaii business is suing the state over hemp laws that went into effect earlier this year, Aloha State Daily reports. The federal lawsuit claims the new rules have made it illegal for Lance Alyas, founder of O’ahu Dispensary and Provisions, LLC, to sell about 80% of the products that were previously allowed.

The suit claims the regulations place an undue burden on overseas commerce and that the state’s efforts to seize or destroy the property violate due process.

In 2020, state lawmakers passed a bill to align its hemp laws with those codified in the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which allowed hemp products with 0.3% delta-9 THC; however, in 2021, the state Department of Health (DOH) passed regulations defining hemp based on total THC concentration, rather than the 0.3% delta-9 threshold. In the lawsuit, Alyas claims the deviations from federal law criminalize products that would be legal under federal standards.

Last year, Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill that would require all hemp distributors to register with the DOH’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation starting in 2026. Under the law, businesses are required to register with the agency to sell any hemp products, and registered sellers who sell products that don’t meet their state testing standards can be fined up to $00 per 1 are suspended and their products destroyed by law enforcement.

Alyas claims that since the company was founded in 2023, it has been the target of “sting operations” by law enforcement, even though all of the products it sells meet the federal definition of hemp.

State Attorney General Anne Lopez and DOH Director Kenneth Fink have asked to dismiss the case, arguing that Alyas has no credible claim that he has been harmed by laws or regulations.

Last year, federal lawmakers passed a bill that will effectively ban most hemp products now available due to the 2018 farm bill. The new federal rules exclude products that include THC “synthesized or produced outside” of the cannabis plant with more than 0.3% THC and “any hemp-derived intermediate cannabinoid product that is marketed or sold as an end product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use.” from the federal definition of hemp. These rules take effect on November 12.

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Tennessee Finalizes Rules Ahead of June 30 Hemp THC Ban

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2026

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Tennessee Finalizes Rules Ahead of June 30 Hemp THC Ban

The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has set final regulations for hemp-derived THC products ahead of the statewide ban taking effect on June 30. Tennessee Lookout reports.

Lawmakers approved the ban last year, and the policy was supposed to take effect on January 1. The Tennessee Association of Healthy Alternatives, a hemp industry trade group, secured an agreement with the state to allow licensed sellers of hemp products to continue selling certain products until June 30, 2026.

TABC officials told a government operations committee in May that most of the public comments the agency has received expressed dissatisfaction with the hemp changes.

The ban is expected to affect about 75% of hemp product sales in the state, according to the report.