Judge Denies Hemp Business' Request To Temporarily Block New Cannabis Laws: Report

MANASSAS, VA – A federal judge on Friday afternoon denied the request made by a group of Virginia hemp businesses to temporarily block new hemp restrictions from taking effect, according to a new report.

The lawsuit was filed by seven hemp businesses, including one based in Manassas, who say that their legal businesses risk being destroyed as Virginia makes way for a retail cannabis market in 2027. While laws passed through Virginia’s state budgeting process will make the retail sale of cannabis legal in summer 2027, they have also made these businesses' hemp products, with a combination of psychoactive THC and non-psychoactive CBD in regulated amounts according to previous state law, illegal.

The businesses argued that this amounts to an illegal taking of their assets, effectively erasing huge amounts of value from their inventory and rendering years of efforts to comply with Virginia law fruitless.

Inside NOVA reports that U.S. Western District of Virginia Judge Robert Ballou found that the lawsuit didn’t appear likely to be successful on its merits and didn’t convince him the businesses would be irreparably injured if the bill took effect, which it did on August 15.

The judge argued that the evolving federal regulatory environment is partly responsible for the state legal changes affecting their businesses, and the businesses could have expected a legal overhaul. He found that the businesses needed more than an expectation that the law would remain unchanged to establish a taking.

However, the judge did find that the legal changes will create substantial economic harm for the hemp businesses.

Barbara Biddle, owner of District Hemp Botanicals in Manassas, said in a statement on Instagram that she is continuing the fight.

“We are calling on legislators to convene for [a] special session to address the gap in access for consumers, protect businesses from bankruptcy, and reinstate the previous definition of hemp. We’re also asking that the [Cannabis Control Authority, the Office of the Attorney General] and local law enforcement consider halting enforcement against the redefinition until legislators are able to resolve this issue. … We’re calling on our supporters to demand that Virginia’s elected officials convene a Special Session and address the rushed, contradictory legislation that has devastated small businesses and livelihoods across the Commonwealth.”

Biddle had said she risks bankruptcy due to the new laws. According to the lawsuit, some of the plaintiffs say about 85 percent of their existing inventory is illegal under the new laws.

Read more from Inside NOVA here.