Ninth Circuit Punts on Interstate Transportation of Hemp

On September 4, 2019, the Ninth Circuit issued its ruling in Big Sky Scientific LLC v. Jan Bennetts et al, the case involving the seizure of an interstate shipment of hemp that occurred after the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill. In a three-page opinion, the court sidestepped the substantive issues presented on appeal and held that the parties should pursue their claims in state court.

In January 2019, a hemp cultivator in Oregon attempted to ship a truckload of hemp to a processor in Colorado. But as the cargo passed through Idaho, the Idaho State Police seized the shipment and arrested the driver, alleging violations of Idaho state law. The Idaho police charged the driver with a crime and filed a civil complaint in state court against the hemp itself. The Idaho civil case was stayed pending resolution of the criminal proceeding.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

Ninth Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Landmark Hemp Transportation Case

On August 28, 2019, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judges Hawkins, McKeown and Bybee heard oral argument in Big Sky Scientific LLC v. Jan Bennetts et al.

To review the background briefly, Big Sky Scientific, LLC, a Colorado-based hemp processor, purchased federally lawful hemp from a state-licensed hemp cultivator in Oregon. The parties arranged to ship the hemp from Oregon to Colorado via motor carrier. En route to Colorado, the shipment entered Idaho, where the Idaho police seized the cargo and arrested the driver, alleging violations of Idaho state law. Idaho initiated a state court criminal proceeding against the driver, and a state court civil proceeding against the hemp itself, to ensure the hemp would not be returned to Big Sky. In response, Big Sky filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal court to force the Idaho State Police to return the seized cargo and stop seizing hemp shipments that pass through the state. The District Court denied Big Sky’s motion, and Big Sky appealed. That appeal was the basis of the oral argument. Duane Morris filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp in support of Big Sky, arguing that an adverse ruling would have a serious negative impact on the hemp industry. (Duane Morris is the national law firm partner of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp.)

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

USDA Memo Clarifies Key Provisions Regarding Hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”), signed into law on December 20, 2018, altered the federal government’s treatment of hemp in a number of ways. The 2018 Farm Bill expanded the definition of “hemp” to include, explicitly, derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids, and removed hemp from the definition of federally unlawful marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). See 2018 Farm Bill, Pub. L. No. 115-334 §§ 10113, 12619, 132 Stat. 4490. Notably, the 2018 Farm Bill also explicitly permitted the interstate transportation of hemp: “No State or Indian Tribe shall prohibit the transportation or shipment of hemp or hemp products produced in accordance with subtitle G of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (as added by section 10113).” Id. at § 10114.

Subtitle G, for its part, provides that “[n]othing in this section prohibits the production of hemp in a State or the territory of an Indian tribe—(1) for which a State or Tribal plan is not approved under this section, if the production of hemp is in accordance with section 297C or other Federal laws (including regulations).” Id. at § 10113 (emphasis added). This final clause, “or other Federal laws,” is significant because the Agriculture Act of 2014 (the “2014 Farm Bill”) is also a “federal law,” and to date approximately 40 states have instituted industrial hemp programs pursuant to the 2014 Farm Bill. Under the language of the 2018 Farm Bill, then, states may not interfere with the interstate transportation of hemp produced in accordance with either the 2014 Farm Bill or—once regulations are implemented and state hemp programs are approved—the 2018 Farm Bill.

Notwithstanding the language of the 2018 Farm Bill, the absence of federal regulations implementing the new law and sanctioning state hemp programs revised pursuant to the 2018 Farm Bill has caused significant confusion regarding the true impact of the act.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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