Several Connecticut hemp farmers filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging state laws they say contradict federal regulations and have devastated the state's hemp industry, causing licensed operations to plummet from 119 to just 25 over two years.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, lists Gov. Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Chief State's Attorney Patrick Griffin and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli as defendants.
The plaintiffs — farmers Michael Goodenough, Darren Cugno, Norman Plude and Wells Farming LLC, along with hemp processor Ricardo Sotil — claim recent state laws redefining THC levels violate the 2018 federal Farm Bill and Connecticut's own U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved hemp plan.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Because the effects of THC are dose dependent, low levels of the compound do not cause any intoxicating effects. The federal Farm Bill legalized hemp containing no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Connecticut received federal approval for its hemp plan using this definition in December 2021.
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