Tennessee Growers Coalition sues the Tennessee Department of Agriculture over Emergency Rules regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products

The Tennessee Growers Coalition (TGC) filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) on Friday, September 6. The lawsuit challenges Emergency Rules issued by the agency on June 2024 that would establish a licensing program for retailers and suppliers of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. The licensing program was established on July 1, 2024, and TDA has issuing licenses and conducting outreach with plans to begin enforcement on October 1.

A law charging TDA with regulation of hemp-derived cannabinoids was passed in May of 2023. TGC is challenging the law because TDA did not issue a Final Rule that took into consideration public comments. As TGC explains, after the law’s passage, a Final Rule was proposed by TDA in December of 2023, for which over 19,000 public comments were received, as well as hundreds of oral comments during a public hearing on February 6. However, instead of issued a Final Rule, the agency issued Emergency Rules, which TGC says violates the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. This act “forbids an agency from enacting emergency rules ‘based upon the agency’s failure to timely process and file rules through the normal rulemaking process,’” explains TGC.

TGC charges that TDA had three full months to prepare its proposed Final Rule for final release. “TGC Members’ businesses and livelihoods are at stake by being forced to adapt their business practices to regulations, change the type of products they sell, and how they manage compliance while paying a license fee under regulations that are void as a matter of law,” explains the group in a press release.