Illinois Hemp Business Owners Urge Lawmakers to Reject Proposed Agriculture Rule Threatening to Refuel War on Drugs, Diminish Social Equity

CHICAGO, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hemp businesses advocating for responsible industrywide regulations urge members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to reject an Illinois Department of Agriculture proposed rule regulating hemp. The proposed regulations would criminalize the sale and transport of hemp products not purchased through a licensed cannabis dispensary, fueling a renewed "War on Drugs" and eliminating paths to social equity while harming countless local businesses.

The proposed rule's regulatory overreach would:

• Refuel the War on Drugs by expanding law enforcement authority for stops, searches, and drug arrests related to the purchase and transport of federally lawful hemp products.
• Undermine Illinois' social equity goals while giving big multistate marijuana companies complete control of the hemp and cannabis markets.
• Presume all hemp products that have not yet been tested – even hemp that has yet to be harvested – to be illegal cannabis, which can be seized by the state at any time.
• Authorize the state to conduct unlimited inspections of local businesses, saddling shop owners with new "testing" and "sampling" charges of up to $1,500 per product.

 The proposed rule is scheduled to be discussed by the joint committee next Tuesday, November 12.

"If this proposed rule goes through, it will destroy the hemp business I built from the ground up and wipe out my ability to support my family and the 42 Illinois residents we employ," said Ashraf Hassan, owner of Joliet-based hemp manufacturer Organic Pharma Techs LLC. "I'll be forced to relocate my business to a new state, taking good jobs and opportunities out of Illinois. Even more concerning, this rule would disenfranchise the very same people that Illinois' social equity program was meant to uplift. Law enforcement would be granted more power to stop, search, and arrest people for purchasing federally legal hemp products – creating harsher criminal penalties in Illinois than even in places like Florida."

Should the proposed rule be approved, the IHBA stands ready to pursue all legal avenues to appeal the rule's adoption.

"The proposed hemp rules in Illinois look like a clear-cut case of regulatory overreach and a blatant disregard for the rule of law. The Illinois Department of Agriculture seems to be usurping the General Assembly's legislative authority and disregarding relevant federal law," said David Sergi, a prominent hemp and cannabis attorney who has successfully challenged heavy-handed hemp regulations in other states. "Upon my initial review of the draft rules, I see several fatal legal and procedural flaws that would not withstand an anticipated legal challenge in the Courts."

For more information, visit ILhemp.org.

SOURCE Illinois Hemp Business Association