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Arizona’s hemp industry this week received a welcome reprieve from an overnight ban on all ‘consumable hemp products’, as the Court of Appeals agreed to consider a collaborative pushback from the industry.
The Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona (HITA) and its legal team, Full Spectrum Law Collective, announced yesterday that their ‘Petition for Special Action’ against last months ruling would be heard by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
A Petition for Special Action is a legal tool in Arizona to request a the Court of Appeals step in immediately, rather than wait for the usual snails pace of court proceedings to play out, used when the issue has immediate and widespread consequences.
In their filing, HITA argues that the move has already seen ‘businesses shuttering, workers being laid off, and families who depended on the industry for income, insurance and stability’ now caught in ‘legal crossfire they never saw coming’.
With the intervention of the higher court, a ‘stay’ has been granted, meaning the proceedings in the lower court, namely HITA’s legal actipn against the Arizona Attorney General’s Office have been postponed indefinitely.
“The stay we received strengthened our position. The hearing will no longer be held. Our legal team will now be able to focus on the Special Action. By filing the Special Action, we’ve elevated the matter to a higher court that oversees lower-court decisions and the actions of executive agencies like the Attorney General’s Office,” said Sully Sullivan, Executive Director of HITA.
In late April, Business of Cannabis reported that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner denied HITA’s request for a temporary restraining order on the action.
As such, the case was set to be played out in a full hearing on May 09, where Judge Warner said he will explain his reasoning behind the denial, however this has now been delayed indefinitely while the Appeals court examines HITA’s petition.
The bill in question stems from an opinion declared by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes in March 2025, that hemp-derived products with intoxicating levels of THC should be treated the same as cannabis under state law, meaning they should only be sold through licensed dispensaries.
He gave Arizona retailers until April 24 to remove products from shelves, or potentially faces fines of up to $20,000 per item or criminal prosecution.
“The stay was granted over the strenuous objection of the Attorney General’s office, who argued the appeal was unlikely to succeed,” Sullivan continued.
The Attorney General’s office took this position because she hoped to force HITA-AZ to dismiss its special action and proceed with an ordinary appeal on a slower timeline. The court disagreed with the Attorney General’s office, announcing a delay that protects our position, enhances our leverage, and ensures our arguments are reviewed by judges with the mandate and vantage point necessary to correct governmental overreach.”
“}]] Arizona’s hemp industry this week received a welcome reprieve from an overnight ban on all ‘consumable hemp products’, as the Court of Appeals agreed to consider a collaborative pushback from the industry. Read More
