* Block Club Chicago…
On Thursday, the Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association, a trade group for the hemp industry, asked a judge to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a host of other state officials one week before the Illinois Hemp Act takes effect on Nov. 12.
The group wants a pause on the state’s Hemp Act, which would ban the sale of hemp-derived THC beverages and cannabinoid products outside of licensed dispensaries. Advocates argue the new law could prove disastrous for breweries and other businesses that have pivoted to the sales of such products in recent years.
If successful, Thursday’s litigation would prevent the state from reclassifying hemp products as cannabis along with stopping what advocates argue are restrictive provisions in the Hemp Act, to keep the industry afloat. […]
But that might not be enough to save the hemp industry. A federal ban on intoxicating hemp products is set to kick in Dec. 11, though there is pending legislation to extend that deadline to 2028.
* Crain’s…
The state agencies must respond to IHAA’s complaint by Nov. 13, and IHAA will have until Nov. 17 to file its response. [Federal District Court Judge Martha Pacold] will then hear oral arguments on the emergency motion on Nov. 19. Court documents indicate each side will have 20 minutes to make their case.
The association has sent the state a list of their [250] members who cannot face enforcement under the agreement.
The hemp association and independent companies are seeking the temporary restraining order saying the Hemp Act will cause a multimillion-dollar loss to the industry.
* More…
* Forbes | The $38 Billion Hemp Industry Has One Month To Live: No bills regulating hemp have passed yet, and it’s not clear that any will before the ban goes into effect. But a few are in play, including the Lawful Hemp Protection Act by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY). (Barr just won his Senate race to replace Senator Mitch McConnell, who is responsible for the hemp ban being added to the last federal spending bill passed last November and ironically the author of the hemp language in the 2018 Farm Bill.) The Barr-Craig bill, if passed, would change the definition of hemp, again, and add new taxes and other regulations. Other bills will do roughly the same. President Donald Trump has vocally called for Congress to reverse the ban. (To add another layer, his recently fired chief of staff Susie Wiles’ daughter is married to Bret Worley, the founder of hemp derived cannabinoid producer MC Nutraceuticals.)
* Marijuana Herald | Illinois Agrees to Pause Hemp THC Enforcement for 250 Businesses Until November 19 Amid Federal Lawsuit: Under the new law, consumable and topical hemp products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container would be classified as marijuana, restricting their sale to licensed dispensaries. The rules also establish new restrictions on synthetic cannabinoids, product packaging, labeling and testing.
* Tribune | Illinois ban on intoxicating hemp will end unregulated legal market, but likely shut or shrink many businesses: “I think most people on both sides agree that regulated markets would be a good thing for assuring quality assurance,” said Donald Opitz, director of cannabis studies at DePaul University. “The concern is about how this is interrupting one of the last spaces where some inclusivity in the market remained. A lot of business owners who entered this space are from minority communities that have been pushed out of the legal cannabis market.”
