The sale of popular hemp products will remain legal in Tennessee until at least June, when a legal challenge to state rules that would outlaw many best-selling products goes to trial in Nashville.
The decision represents a six-month reprieve for Tennessee’s burgeoning hemp industry, which has grown to an estimated $280-$560 million in annual sales since the products were legalized nearly six years ago, according to industry survey data.
In dispute are rules, formulated by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, to require new testing of hemp products for so-called delta-9 THC.
(READ MORE: THCa sales to continue in Tennessee — for now — following judge’s ruling)
Two industry groups, the Tennessee Growers Coalition and the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association, argued the rules, set to go into effect Dec. 26, represented agency overreach and would lead to the ban of products that have not been outlawed by the Tennessee General Assembly.