Intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, such as those containing delta-8 or delta-10 THC, “have always been” illegal in Maryland, a state appellate court ruled last week.
The Sept. 10 ruling from the Appellate Court of Maryland is a major setback for a coalition of hemp companies challenging the state’s adult-use cannabis regulations.
As the court found: “Hemp-derived psychoactive products, so-called delta-8 and delta-10 THC, are now and have always been illegal in Maryland.”
Hemp companies’ lawsuit challenging Maryland cannabis rules fails
Shut out from the state’s tightly regulated, limited-license adult-use cannabis market, the Maryland Hemp Coalition sued the state in 2023, alleging those regulations were unconstitutional.
The lawsuit sought to undo both the state’s license cap as well as its social equity program.
A lower-court judge in 2023 enjoined the state from enforcing restrictions limiting hemp operators.
But in its 72-page ruling last week, a three-judge panel found that the state’s Cannabis Reform Act did not authorize “an unconstitutional monopoly.”
While noting a “lax regulation of hemp-derived psychoactive products in Maryland,” the court did not find that retailers had any rights to continue selling intoxicating hemp products outside of the state’s regulated cannabis market.
That’s because “the federal Controlled Substances Act continues to prohibit cannabis products at the federal level,” the ruling found.
Maryland hemp crackdown legal
Next steps, such as an appeal to a higher court, are unclear.
Nevin Young, an attorney representing the hemp coalition, did not respond to a request for comment from the Baltimore Sun.
A crackdown on hemp retailers that began earlier this year is likely to continue.
In late July, a federal judge dismissed a separate lawsuit challenging those enforcement actions.
Many states have passed tough restrictions or outright bans on hemp-derived THC products that appeared following the 2018 federal Farm Bill.
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