Connecticut’s hemp industry is at the center of a major legal battle after several farmers filed a federal lawsuit challenging state regulations they say contradict federal law. The case highlights how conflicting definitions of hemp and cannabis are devastating small farms and making hemp licenses nearly worthless.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, names Governor Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli as defendants. The plaintiffs include hemp farmers Michael Goodenough, Darren Cugno, Norman Plude, Wells Farming LLC, and hemp processor Ricardo Sotil. Collectively, they argue that Connecticut’s new laws clash with the 2018 federal Farm Bill, stripping farmers of the protections and market access their hemp licenses were meant to guarantee.
At the heart of the dispute is THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. The federal Farm Bill legalized hemp containing no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.
Farmers secured hemp licenses with the expectation that as long as their crops met federal standards, they could legally cultivate and sell their products.
However, in 2023, Connecticut passed stricter rules redefining THC thresholds. Under these changes, many products that were legal under federal law were suddenly reclassified as cannabis within the state. Since hemp farmers typically do not hold cannabis cultivation or retail permits, they lost the ability to sell much of their harvest—even though their federally compliant hemp licenses should have protected that right.
The lawsuit claims this shift has devastated the industry. In just two years, the number of licensed hemp operations in Connecticut dropped from 119 to only 25. One farmer, Norman Plude, scaled back from nine acres of hemp to a tiny 400-square-foot plot. Processor Ricardo Sotil said he invested over $1 million in equipment, only to see his business jeopardized by inconsistent rules.
Attorney Genevieve Park Taylor, representing the plaintiffs, argues that the state’s laws have rendered farmers’ hemp licenses “essentially useless.” The suit asks the court for a declaratory judgment requiring Connecticut to honor federal hemp definitions and for an injunction preventing the state from interfering with operations that comply with federal law.
For farmers, hemp licenses represent more than just paperwork—they are property rights and the foundation of their livelihoods. As the case unfolds, it may set a critical precedent not only for Connecticut but for hemp producers across the country struggling with the tension between state restrictions and federal protections.
