An Arizona judge last week rejected a legal request to block new restrictions from Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) on intoxicating hemp products, AZ Central reports.
The Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona filed the lawsuit on April 21, arguing that the production and sale of THC-infused hemp products is legal under state and federal law. The plaintiffs also argued that the attorney general’s proposed changes would wipe out the industry, costing jobs and ruining businesses. But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner denied the motion for a restraining order last Thursay, the day the new rules took effect.
According to an opinion issued by AG Mayes last year, people who sell intoxicating hemp products in Arizona could face criminal penalties and fines of up to $20,000 per item sold. The attorney general clarified the changes in a follow-up opinion on March 24 and gave hemp businesses one month to adjust to the new mandate.
“All THC-infused edible products cannot be sold in Arizona by an unlicensed entity. Even if such products are legal under the Farm Bill of 2018, federal law does not preempt Arizona’s more stringent State laws.” — Mayes, in the follow-up opinion
AG spokesperson Richie