Several Connecticut hemp farmers filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging state laws they say violate the 2018 Farm Bill by restricting hemp-derived THC products.
A series of laws first passed in 2023 that reclassified many hemp products as marijuana has caused the number of licensed hemp operations in the state to plummet by nearly 80%, the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut claims.
The suit lists Gov. Ted Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli as defendants.
Under the Farm Bill, cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC in dry weight is classified as hemp and is thus federally legal.
Connecticut received federal approval for its hemp program using that definition in December 2021.
But beginning in 2023, the state passed new laws lowering THC limits, which reclassified many hemp products as cannabis.
Under the new laws, which took effect Oct. 1, manufactured hemp products sold in Connecticut can contain no more than:
- 1 milligram of THC per serving.
- No more than 0.5 mg of THC.
“These legislative changes in Connecticut directly conflict with the approved hemp plan and have rendered the farmers’ licenses essentially useless,” plaintiffs’ attorney Genevieve Park Taylor told the Hartford Business Journal.
There has been real and direct harm to these farmers, and we’re just trying to help them restore the rights that these state-issued hemp licenses gave them.”
The plaintiffs, farmers Michael Goodenough, Darren Cugno, Norman Plude and Wells Farming as well as hemp processor Ricardo Sotil, are seeking declaratory judgment requiring Connecticut to follow federal hemp definitions.
They also want injunctive relief preventing the state from interfering with federally compliant hemp operations.
Sotil claims he invested more than $1 million in equipment before Connecticut implemented the change, and Plude has cut his hemp operation from 9 acres to 400 square feet.
Several Connecticut retailers filed a similar suit in December, alleging that the new laws violate federal laws governing the amount of THC allowed in hemp products.
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