New Lawsuit Against Texas Ban on Smokable Hemp Claims Officials Overstepped Their Authority

A new lawsuit has been filed to overturn Texas’ smokable hemp-derived THC product ban, WFAA reports. In the lawsuit, the Texas Hemp Constitutional Alliance and Green Nation, a hemp business in the state, claim Stephanie Muth as executive director of Texas Health and Human Services, and Imelda Garcia as interim commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, exceeded their authority when establishing the new rules imposing the ban and imposing higher licensing fees on manufacturers and retailers.

The lawsuit contends that only state lawmakers had the authority to create the new rules and seeks an injunction on the new regulations until the case is tried in court.

The lawsuit is the latest in the string of legal filings against the new rules in the state. On December 8, the Texas Hemp Business Council will appear in court for a hearing in their lawsuit, which also challenges the smokable product ban and increased fees. In April, a Texas judge ruled for the plaintiffs and overturned the ban, but the state appealed, and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals rescinded the lower court’s emergency injunction. The business council’s hearing will be before the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.

A separate lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas by four hemp product retailers also targets the rule changes. That lawsuit claims that the regulations have led to over 36,000 job losses and billions of dollars in losses for the industry.