Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson on Monday denied a request by four companies for an order to block part of Alabama's new law on products made from hemp. Anderson made the ruling after a hearing Monday afternoon, when lawyers for the companies told the judge why they believed a temporary restraining order was appropriate. Lawyers for Attorney General Steve Marshall opposed the motion.
The new law, HB445, bans the sales and possession of all smokable hemp products. Violations will be a Class C felony, punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison. That part of the law takes effect Tuesday.
The four companies, Mellow Fellow Fun LLC, Tasty Haze LLC, The Humble Hemp Shack LLC, and Seedless Green LLC, claimed that the ban on smokable hemp is preempted by federal law. The federal farm bill passed in 2018 distinguished hemp from marijuana and made it legal to grow and process if the THC content is 0.3% or less.
The plaintiffs claimed Alabama's ban on smokable hemp interferes with interstate commerce. Anderson, after hearing the arguments, disagreed, and denied the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
Read more at AL.com