Texas Supreme Court to review smokable-hemp lawsuit

Texas hemp producers who successfully challenged a ban on smokable flower now must face a review by the state’s Supreme Court.

The Texas Supreme Court announced Friday that it would take another look at an August decision that sided with several hemp companies and threw out Texas’ 2019 smokable-hemp ban.

The lower judge ruled that Texas’ law prohibiting businesses from distributing or selling smokable forms of hemp was unconstitutional. That ruling also voided a resulting rule from the Texas health department that sought to enforce the statute.

Both sides in the case encouraged the state’s Supreme Court to review the decision, according to Law 360.

The four hemp retailers and manufacturers agreed with state officials in calling for a final word from Texas’ highest court on whether the state can ban smokable-hemp products from being made or sold.

“Protracted litigation perpetuates regulatory uncertainty that harms key aspects of the Texas agriculture economy,” the companies said in a Dec. 13 filing reported by Law 360. “The court should accept jurisdiction now rather than leave the industry in suspense.”

Arguments in the case are scheduled for March 22.