A federal judge has upheld Alaska’s ban on the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s licensed marijuana system, ruling that the state acted within its constitutional authority.
In a decision issued May 23, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon granted summary judgment to the state in a case brought by the Alaska Industrial Hemp Association. The group had challenged 2023 regulations adopted by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources that effectively barred the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products—such as delta-8 THC—through unlicensed retailers like convenience stores and gas stations.
The court’s ruling means these products will remain illegal in Alaska unless sold through licensed marijuana businesses.
Assistant Attorney General Kevin Higgins, who represented the state in the case, said in an email that the Division of Agriculture was driven by public safety when it moved to regulate the emerging market. “This was an easy case to make,” Higgins said, noting the plaintiffs didn’t file a formal opposition to the state’s motion.
The lawsuit claimed the rules violated the U.S. Constitution, including the supremacy clause, dormant commerce clause, and due process protections. But Judge Reardon rejected each of those arguments and sided with the state across the board.
The legal challenge followed a broader push by Alaska marijuana retailers and a state-appointed task force who raised concerns about unregulated intoxicating hemp flooding the market. Although hemp was federally legalized in 2018 and recognized under Alaska law in 2021, the availability of hemp-derived psychoactive products in non-licensed venues had become a flashpoint for the state’s regulated industry.
The state’s response came in 2023, when new rules were enacted to ensure all intoxicating cannabis products—regardless of their source—would fall under the state’s marijuana regulatory system. The Division of Agriculture and the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office have already seized products from several businesses this year in Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Trevor Haynes, president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association, said the court’s decision helps close a loophole that allowed intoxicating products to bypass the rules marijuana businesses must follow. Still, he acknowledged concerns remain about the stringent requirement that hemp products contain no psychoactive components at all.
“There might be a better solution,” Haynes said, “but this certainly prevents a gray area where marijuana can be sold under the guise of hemp.”
