Judge rejects petition to pause CA ban on hemp products with THC

A California judge has temporarily upheld a wide-ranging. statewide ban on nearly all consumer hemp products containing THC.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch on Friday denied an application filed by the hemp industry to invoke a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the restrictions – which prohibit the sale of any industrial hemp food, beverage or dietary product for consumption if it contains THC or other intoxicating cannabinoid – until a lawsuit over the matter is resolved.

The petition was filed late last month in Los Angeles Superior Court by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable trade group and six hemp companies after California’s ban on intoxicating hemp products took effect.

The lawsuit seeking to block California’s ban on intoxicating hemp-derived products is set to begin trial proceedings Nov. 22, according to court documents.

Goorvitch wrote in his rejection of a TRO that the emergency regulations implemented by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 6 were constitutional and the petitioners’ arguments related to lost revenue failed to demonstrate “sufficient irreparable harm.”

“The state’s interest in protecting the health and safety of its residents – especially children – and closing a loophole that permitted the distribution of high doses of THC outside the regulated cannabis system outweighs the potential economic harm referenced in Petitioner’s declarations,” the judge added.

Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta celebrated the decision.

“We will not sit on our hands while bad actors in the hemp industry target our children with dangerous and intoxicating hemp products containing THC at our retail stores,” Newsom said in a statement after Friday’s ruling.

“Industry concerns about the regulations are more about protecting their profit than the public.

“We are pleased the court saw through their bogus arguments and put the safety of Californians first in its decision.”