The ban on delta-8 cannabis products in Arkansas has been challenged in federal court. After such products were able to be legally sold under the 2018 Farm Bill, they were banned in the state under Act 629 along with other synthetic cannabis products in April.
However, in July, a number of Arkansas cannabis companies put forward a challenge to stop the ban, claiming that federal law supersedes state law.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffi has now defended the ban, stating the challenge should be dismissed as state law overrides federal law.
Griffi stated: “Plaintiffs allege Act 629 is unconstitutional for various reasons, none of which are founded in the law. It does not “destroy the ability to cultivate hemp of any kind,” it does not “create[e] insurmountable confusion,” and the regulatory scheme is not a “sham.”
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“Arkansas recognizes that industrial hemp is a valuable commodity when cultivated as intended. Act 629 does not stifle such production, and instead, protects Arkansas from the adulterated products that result from chemical synthesis.”
And goes on to state: “Because the statute is constitutional, there is little likelihood that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their claims. They have also failed to show a threat of irreparable harm, and instead, enjoining the implementation of this law would be of much greater harm to Arkansans, who have a strong interest in enforcing legislation legally passed that complies with all aspects of the law.”
