A federal lawsuit filed in Texas seeks to block the state’s recent ban on most forms of THC, including delta-8.
Thomas Monti, a Galveston County hemp retail store manager and consumer; Lifted Liquids Inc., a national hemp product manufacturer; and The Happy Cactus Apothecary LLC, an Austin hemp retailer, filed the lawsuit July 31, according to a news release from The Banks Law Firm, which represents the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit names state officials and argues that Texas’ classification of the substances as Schedule I controlled substances conflicts with the 2018 federal farm bill, which legalized hemp nationwide.
The ban took effect July 31. The plaintiffs are asking a federal court to prevent enforcement of the ban and remove the affected forms of THC from Texas’ list of controlled substances.
The dispute traces back to 2021, when state officials said they had added forms of THC such as delta-8 to the state’s list of Schedule I controlled substances.
That decision was challenged in a lawsuit brought by members of the hemp industry and eventually reached the Texas Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the state, paving the way for Texas to prohibit the products at the end of July.
According to the plaintiffs, however, the federal constitutional and federal preemption claims raised in the new lawsuit were not considered by the Texas Supreme Court.