LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas AG Tim Griffin is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit against a new law that bans several hemp products.
This request stems around Act 629, which bans hemp products like Delta-8 in Arkansas, and was enacted this month.
Last week, several companies filed lawsuits against the state claiming the new law passed by the legislature is illegal. and "oversteps federal regulations."
Lawmakers who pushed for the law in this past session said that the legislation works to keep marijuana-related products out of the hands of children.
The plaintiffs of the lawsuit have said that since the federal government regualtes marijuana, a state can't pass a law like this.
This is something that AG Griffin has pushed back against, stating that he believes Arkansas can have a say-so and that he wants the lawsuit tossed.
Although the act's sponsor, Sen. Tyler Dees, said it was passed to protect children, the company's attorney said it's beyond the legislature's power.
"On July 31, he was just a farmer," said Abtin Mehdizadegan, the plaintiff's attorney. "On Aug. 1, this law made him a felon."
Mehdizadegan represents four companies suing the state of Arkansas for a new law banning hemp.
Mehdizadegan said this goes beyond smoke shops and their employees, but it also includes farmers who were making a living with the plant.
"I believe all of our clients support reasonable regulation of these substances," Mehdizadegan said. "This law doesn't do that."
The attorney said this law oversteps federal boundaries in two ways.
First, former President Donald Trump signed the Farm Bill in 2018, which set national standards for hemp and its production.
Second, it violates the protections of interstate commerce across state lines with the product.
"That trucker [and] that employee faces criminal sanction for products now deemed illegal despite what the federal law says," Mehdizadegan said.
Back in March, we spoke to Dees, who said the law aims to stop kids from getting ahold of products rooted with THC.
"It's because of an accessibility issue," Dees said. "You can walk into a regular gas station and purchase this product as if you're purchasing Skittles or any other candy."
We contacted Dees about the lawsuit, and he said it's nothing he didn't expect.
"I'm not surprised to see a lawsuit by those worried more about their profits than the protection of children and other consumers," Dees said.