Skip to Content
Network for Public Health Law
Mitigating the Incidence and Severity of Injuries and Other Harms

C.Y. Wholesale, Inc., et al., v. Eric Holocomb, et al.

by

Overview

C.Y. Wholesale, Inc., et al., v. Eric Holocomb, et al. (U.S. Court of Appeals – Seventh Circuit, July 9, 2020): The court vacated a ban blocking enforcement of Indiana’s smokable hemp regulations. The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively legalizing its production under federal law. Indiana passed a law in 2019 criminalizing the manufacture, financing, delivery, or possession of smokable industrial hemp. A group of hemp and CBD sellers sued the state to prevent enforcement of this ban. The district court held that the ban was preempted by the Farm Bill and enjoined Indiana from enforcing it. The Seventh Circuit found that only a ban on the interstate transportation of smokable hemp was preempted. The Farm Bill expressly authorized states to regulate the production of hemp, even if they were stricter than the federal standard. As a result, the broader injunction was vacated and remanded to the district court to determine if a narrowly-tailored injunction consistent with the appellate court’s findings was appropriate. Read the decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – August 11, 2020.

View all cases under “Mitigating the Incidence & Severity of Injuries & Other Harms.”