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Texas Lawsuit Seeks to Block Smokable Hemp Products Ban

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2 months ago

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Texas Lawsuit Seeks to Block Smokable Hemp Products Ban

A coalition of hemp industry stakeholders and advocacy groups filed a temporary restraining order against the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Tuesday, seeking to block recently implemented ban on smoked hemp products, Texas Tribune reports.

Enacted on March 31, the ban bans the sale of cannabis flowers, pre-rolls and vaporizers. DSHS officials targeted the products by updating state regulations to count the cannabinoid THCA — which by itself is not intoxicating, but when decarboxylated (heated or burned), turns into delta-9 THC — toward the maximum THC allowed in hemp products. According to state law, hemp-derived products must not exceed the federal limit of 0.3% THC content.

In their challenge, however, the plaintiffs argue that state officials lacked the authority to issue such sweeping changes.

“Under current Texas law, hemp is defined by its delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3%. These Texas officials and state agencies are clearly trying to create new law in direct opposition to what the Texas legislature intended.” — David Sergi, attorney for the Hemp Coalition, in a press release

Meanwhile, officials also passed new product testing and age verification requirements and significantly raised the state’s hemp licensing fees. The Hemp Industry Coalition is not challenging those changes.

“Texas hemp businesses wholeheartedly support those regulations, as they are under the agency’s authority,” Sergi said in the report. “We’re seeking to stop rules that would effectively end the state’s production of hemp and the sale of hemp products — items the Legislature chose not to ban during recent legislative and special sessions.”

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Louisiana Gov. Signs Bill Enhancing Penalties for Smoking Cannabis on College Campuses

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10 hours ago

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June 8, 2026

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Louisiana Gov. Signs Bill Enhancing Penalties for Smoking Cannabis on College Campuses

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed one bill that would imprison individuals for smoking cannabis within 2,000 feet of high school and college campuses. In a statement posted on X Last week, Landry said he was “tired of going…to college and high school campuses and being inundated with the smell of marijuana.”

“And I’m tired of seeing drugs spilling onto our high school and college campuses, hurting students. These drugs take away from the family-friendly environments that colleges are supposed to be — especially on game day.” – Landry in a statement filed for X

The law creates strict penalties for smoking or vaping on or within 2,000 feet of a school property or school bus, allowing prison sentences of up to one and a half times the longest authorized term, with sentences ineligible for parole, probation or suspension. The law also allows those convicted of cannabis-only offenses to serve up to a year in jail, with or without hard labor, and pay a $1,000 fine.

In the statement, Landry said the bill “takes a massive step” in protecting children. The draft law enters into force on August 1.

TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media at a local university.

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Michigan’s Wholesale Cannabis Tax Generating Far Less Revenue Than Predicted

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1 day ago

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June 7, 2026

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Michigan’s Wholesale Cannabis Tax Generating Far Less Revenue Than Predicted

The 24% wholesale tax on cannabis, passed last year by Michigan lawmakers, generated far less revenue in its first quarter than anticipated. The Detroit News reports.

Lawmakers drafted legislation to fund road construction and repairs in the state, and the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency estimated the 24% wholesale tax would generate about $420 million a year. The state received less than $34 million in the first few months of the new tax, less than a third of quarterly expectations.

Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) argued last year that the wholesale tax was unconstitutionally messing with the cannabis framework approved by voters, but the courts refused to block the tax from taking effect on January 1.

“Our elected leaders made the cannabis industry a sacrificial lamb to have the illusion of a road funding fix,” MICIA executive director Robin Schneider said in the report.

“In reality, the only thing they’ve accomplished is the destruction of a strong industry that served as an economic driver for this state. The result is closing businesses, losing jobs, and stripping local governments of tax revenue.” – Schneider, via The Detroit News

The trade group presented a the second lawsuit challenging the wholesale tax on cannabis in March.

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

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3 days ago

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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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