FAYETTEVILLE, Ark — Act 629 was passed in the 2023 legislative session, banning the sale and production of items with Delta 8, 9, and 10 in Arkansas, but local hemp distributors are back in business after a federal judge blocked the ban.
Co-owner of American Shaman Kava Bar Ranaga Farbiah says that when Governor Sanders signed the bill into law, it "put us back to pre-pandemic levels, which would not have been sustainable for us and many other businesses."
Farbiah says "About 60 to 70% of our gross sales were the Delta 8 products. We were selling them to veterans, people suffering from anxiety, sleep disorders, and depression. These people had to find their source somewhere else."
Bio Gen Owner and Farmer Bill Morgan said he supports the federal judge's decision to pause the ban, "The state really didn't know what it was talking about ... We have the law and the constitution behind us."
Bio Gen was one of four companies that filed the lawsuit, and Morgan says he’s hopeful the law will be overturned soon.
The judge’s preliminary injunction blocked the enforcement of the ban and denied the state's request to dismiss the case. A jury trial has been set for August 2024.
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