Hemp Companies Sue Missouri Over November Intoxicating-Hemp Ban

The Legal Challenge

The complaint names DHSS Director Paula Nickelson and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to overturn the November 2025 emergency rule. Filed by Springfield-based hemp retailer Green Horizons LLC and three wholesale manufacturers, the suit claims the agency violated Missouri's Administrative Procedure Act by bypassing required public-comment periods and economic-impact analysis.

DHSS issued the emergency rule on October 15, 2025, citing "imminent public-health risk" from intoxicating hemp products sold in gas stations and convenience stores. The rule took effect 16 days later. The 42-page complaint lays out the timeline in detail.

The plaintiffs counter that no documented spike in emergency-room visits or poison-control calls supported the "imminent" designation. DHSS hasn't released hospitalization data tied to hemp products for the period preceding the ban.

What the Rule Bans

The emergency regulation prohibits the sale, manufacture, and distribution of any hemp-derived cannabinoid "intended or marketed for intoxication," including delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O, and THCA. It also caps total THC content at 0.3 percent by dry weight, mirroring the 2018 Farm Bill's definition of hemp.

Retailers had until November 15, 2025, to remove non-compliant inventory. Violations carry civil penalties up to $10,000 per day and potential criminal misdemeanor charges.

Licensed medical-marijuana dispensaries are exempt. They operate under separate Division of Cannabis Regulation oversight.

Economic Stakes

The plaintiffs estimate Missouri's intoxicating-hemp market generated $47 million in retail sales in 2025, supporting roughly 320 jobs statewide. Green Horizons alone reported $1.8 million in revenue from delta-8 vape cartridges and gummies in the nine months before the ban.

Lead plaintiff attorney Marcus Chen of Kansas City-based Chen & Associates told the Springfield Daily Citizen that his clients have collectively lost more than $6 million in inventory and forgone sales since November. "This wasn't a public-health emergency," Chen said in a paraphrased statement to the court. "This was regulatory overreach designed to protect the medical-marijuana cartel."

The economic damage is measurable and ongoing—retailers shuttered, manufacturers idled, and farmers left with unsold biomass—all from a rule that skipped the procedural safeguards Missouri law requires.

The State's Defense

DHSS filed a motion to dismiss on June 30, 2026, arguing the agency acted within its statutory authority under Missouri Revised Statutes § 195.017, which grants the department power to schedule controlled substances by emergency rule. The motion cites a 2023 Missouri Supreme Court precedent upholding similar emergency scheduling of synthetic opioids.

The state's brief also points to a November 2025 CDC report linking delta-8 THC to 14 pediatric poisonings in Missouri between January and October 2025. None required hospitalization beyond observation.

A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for August 12, 2026, before Judge Laura Whitmore in Jefferson City.

What Happens Next

If the court denies the state's motion, discovery will proceed through fall 2026, with a trial likely in early 2027. The plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to suspend the ban while litigation continues, though Chen acknowledged that motion faces long odds given Missouri courts' traditional deference to agency emergency powers.

For full background on this story, see the CannIntel topic hub on Missouri's hemp ban.

Missouri lawmakers have introduced competing bills for the 2027 session—one to codify the ban, another to establish a regulated intoxicating-hemp framework with age restrictions and lab-testing requirements. Neither has cleared committee.