Illinois hemp industry files suit to prevent state ban on intoxicating products – Chicago Tribune

Illinois hemp industry files suit to prevent state ban on intoxicating products  Chicago Tribune

The Illinois hemp industry has filed suit seeking a court order to prevent Illinois from enforcing its ban on intoxicating hemp products set for Thursday. An entire industry that sprang up out of a legal loophole will be due to disappear in Illinois this coming week unless a last-ditch effort to save it is successful. Hemp THC — the part of cannabis that gets users high — was set to be banned in the state on Nov. 12. But a hemp industry group has filed suit seeking a court order to halt enforcement of the new law, arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, which gives Congress authority to regulate interstate business.

The Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association and several hemp businesses filed suit in federal court Thursday, seeking a temporary restraining order against the ban. The association, headquartered in Deerfield, says it represents more than 250 businesses employing more than 5,000 people. Consultant Whitney Economics estimated hemp generates $2.7 billion in sales statewide, which, if true, would be more than licensed cannabis. The suit filed in federal Northern District Court states that the ban will “unconstitutionally slam shut access to Illinois markets by out-of-state companies … (and) decimate the businesses of thousands of Illinois farmers, infusers, distributors, and retailers.” Hemp was legalized by the 2018 federal Farm Bill,