Ninth Circuit Sends Hemp Truck Case to State Court

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a district court’s decision not to apply an abstention that would defer a case on the legality of transporting hemp to state court proceedings. Big Sky Scientific v. Bennetts, No. 19-0040 (9th Cir., entered September 4, 2019). Hemp producers were reportedly hoping to receive guidance from the federal courts on the interpretation of the 2018 Farm Bill and its change in legal status for hemp, which producers began sending across state lines before states established regulatory frameworks for the crop.