PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said her crackdown on unlicensed vendors selling THC-infused products is moving forward despite a lawsuit from the hemp industry.
“They wanted a judge to stop the enforcement; a judge did not,” Mayes said of the plaintiffs during a Tuesday interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.
The lawsuit was filed after Mayes sent letters to retailers and law enforcement agencies clarifying that products containing delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC and similar substances can be sold only by businesses possessing valid marijuana establishment licenses.
Why Kris Mayes is cracking down on unlicensed sales of THC-infused products
She sent the letters because she wanted to enforce Arizona law and crack down on sales she saw as inappropriate and problematic.
“We are seeing a situation in which we have all these smoke shops that are selling cannabis-infused gummies, often packaged and marketed to kids,” Mayes said. “And then we have, you know, companies like Total Wine that are selling cannabis-infused drinks.”
Her letters gave companies until April 24 to come into compliance or take their THC-infused products off the shelves. THC is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis plants, aka marijuana. Dispensaries have to go through an application and approval process before being granted a license.
“We are going to go forward with enforcement,” she said. “If you’re going to sell cannabis-infused products, you have to be a licensed marijuana dispensary, essentially. That’s the law. That’s the law that Arizonans passed.”
Details about Arizona law regarding sales of THC-infused products
In November 2020, Arizona voters approved the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana through Proposition 207. Sales began after the first licenses were issued in January 2021.
“Arizonans passed a measure that narrowly limited who could sell recreational marijuana and where,” Mayes said. “They didn’t say, ‘Oh, let’s have every smoke shop in the state of Arizona, especially, many of which are locating themselves around high schools, set up shop and then market these gummies in colorful packages to kids.’”
There will be stiff penalties for noncompliant vendors who sell THC-infused products, including potential criminal charges against retailers, she added.
However, she believes the lawsuit the hemp industry filed in an attempt to stop the crackdown is far from over.
“I think they’re appealing it, Mayes said. “I think that it eventually this will end up probably in front of the Arizona Supreme Court.”
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