Texas’s ban on the production and sale of smokeable hemp products is unconstitutional, a state district court declared on Monday. In a major victory for the state’s hemp industry, Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st District Court ruled in favor of plaintiffs—a group of hemp businesses who sued the Texas Department of State Health Services over a ban on the manufacturing and selling of smokable cannabis products it imposed after the crop was legalized in 2019. Livingston said in a decision letter that judgment “is granted in favor of the Plaintiffs,” without the need for further evidence or hearings. That means a series of Texas statutes prohibiting hemp manufacturing and sales will be fully invalidated after counsel submits final judgments for her to sign. “We’re pleased with the result. This law never made any sense, was an unjustifiable infringement of liberty when enacted, and would have seriously hurt the Texas hemp industry from farmers to consumers if allowed to move forward,” Matt Zorn, one of the lead attorneys on the case, told Marijuana Moment. “After a full trial, the court saw things our way and declared the statute unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution.” Earlier this month, an appeals court had modified a prior injunction and determined that regulators couldn’t enforce a ban on the sales component of the smokeable hemp market. But now there’s a permanent injunction that bars the state from prohibiting the full range of hemp activity.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 08/23/2021 17:00:00