Hemp Settlement Awarded

The state of Tennessee and the city of Spring Hill will jointly pay two businesses $735,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging state and local law enforcement wrongfully seized 231 pounds of legal hemp products earlier this year.

The settlement follows the Spring Hill police department’s seizure of legal hemp products from Old School Vapor and SAK Wholesale in Columbia earlier in 2024.
The two businesses filed a federal suit seeking the return of products they said were valued at $1.35 million.

Hemp is distinguished from marijuana under federal and state law based on the concentration of a compound known as delta-9 THC. Hemp products with a concentration of less than .3% delta-9 THC are legal to sell, buy and consume in Tennessee and federally.

In a separate legal challenge against the state, hemp industry groups won a temporary injunction blocking new rules set to take place that would serve to outlaw most hemp products in Tennessee.
A Nashville judge ruled Monday the rules will be temporarily blocked until February 18th, 2025.