Federal court rules in favor of Arkansas delta-8 ban, lifts enforcement injunction

Video: Full replay of press conference held by AG Tim Griffin

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A federal court ruled on Tuesday that an Arkansas law treating delta-8 products the same as marijuana could be enforced.

Attorney General Tim Griffin said the Eighth Circuit Court has lifted an injunction on the law, allowing his office to begin enforcing a ban on delta-8 and similar hemp products.

“We’re going to be able to deal with this issue,” Griffin said, adding, “Our hands have been tied, but they’re not tied anymore.” 

Act 629 of 2023 prohibits the sale of hemp products, such as those made with or containing delta-8, containing excess tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the intoxicating ingredient in marijuana. It also requires anyone selling or manufacturing hemp products to have a yearly license.

An injunction was issued shortly after the act was signed to prevent its enforcement. The judge who issued the injunction cited confusing language and conflicts with federal law. Today’s ruling lifts that injunction.

The Tuesday ruling clarified that the Arkansas law does not interfere with federal law. The ruling also removed Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Griffin as defendants, Griffin said.

Without Act 629’s enforcement, delta-8 THC can be sold over the counter as a hemp product, not regulated by marijuana laws.

The 2018 federal farm bill allowed a classification for hemp as a legal product provided it contained less than 0.3% THC. In some cases, producers would extract THC from industrial hemp and convert it to Delta-8 THC, often packaged as gummy candies or drinks with a marijuana-like potency.

A 2023 Working4You investigation found multiple calls to the state’s poison control center from people, including children, who had consumed Delta-8.

“If you’re selling this, you have a couple weeks to clean your stuff up, but if you’re selling this [delta] you’re doing it in violation of the law,” Griffin said. “You have a few weeks to get it [delta] out of the state.”

The plaintiffs in the case are Fayetteville hemp producer Bio Gen, LLC; Drippers Vape Shop; out-of-state Smoker Friendly, a tobacco product producer with multiple stores and Hometown Hero, which sells CBD products. CBD is a chemical found in marijuana that does not contain THC.

Griffin said plaintiffs are expected to appeal the Tuesday ruling.