A new lawsuit targets Connecticut’s laws limiting the amount of THC in manufactured hemp products in the state.
The suit recently was filed in federal court by the Infinity Smoke Shop in Stratford, Connecticut, as well as “smoke shop owners and investors” in the PuffCity chain, CT Insider reported.
The PuffCity brand has locations in Connecticut as well as its home state of New Jersey, plus Alabama, New York and Pennsylvania.
But only the brand’s Connecticut franchises in Bridgeport, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Milford, North Haven, Shelton, Southington, Wallingford and West Haven are involved in the lawsuit.
Defendants listed in the suit are Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, state Attorney General William Tong, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli.
The suit alleges a Connecticut law that took effect Oct. 1 violates federal law governing the amount of THC permissible in hemp products.
Under the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp products that contain less than 0.3% THC are legal to produce and sell.
But a loophole in that law has led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products across the United States.
In May, Lamont signed two bills into law creating “a new category called ‘high-THC hemp products,’ specifically listing edibles, hemp topicals or hemp transdermal patches,” CT Insider noted.
Under the laws, manufactured hemp products sold in Connecticut can contain no more than:
- 1 milligram of THC per serving, effective Oct. 1, 2024.
- No more than 0.5 milligrams of THC, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The plaintiffs are seeking “to have the court issue an injunction on the endorsement of all of these changes, and specifically the change in definition of hemp,” their attorney, Genevieve Park Taylor, told CT Insider.
“The state has impermissibly changed the definition of hemp, and that’s what it all boils down to,” Park Taylor added.
“Hemp is hemp is hemp, and marijuana is marijuana is marijuana, and they’re different things. And in Connecticut, we’re treating them as the same.”
Attorney General Tong’s office declined CT Insider’s request for comment.
In addition to cracking down on Connecticut retailers selling manufactured hemp products, Tong joined 18 other state attorneys general asking Congress to take action against intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids.
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