A U.S. court has upheld Virginia’s strict regulations on intoxicating hemp products, ruling they don’t conflict with the federal law and Dormant Commerce Clause, reinforcing the state’s power to protect public health and safety.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided an appeal filed by hemp company Northern Virginia Hemp and Agriculture and other plaintiffs challenging Virginia’s Senate Bill 903, a law regulating hemp products.
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The court denied claims that the law conflicts with federal law or violates the so-called Dormant Commerce Clause–a principle of law that prohibits states from enacting laws that unduly interfere with interstate commerce.
The court, in its judgment, stated that the states can provide legislation concerning health and safety matters, including restrictions on intoxicating hemp products.
The decision is a major setback to the hemp industry’s legal offensive against state rules, as it upholds that Virginia’s law in no way conflicts with federal rules or the Constitution.
Virginia’s Crackdown On Intoxicating Hemp Products
The plaintiffs have argued this state law conflicts with federal law under the 2018 Farm Bill because it restricts the amount of total THC in retail hemp products to 0.3%.
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While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp containing as much as 0.3% delta-9 THC, the main compound of marijuana also present in industrial hemp in small quantities, it didn’t restrict other forms of THC, which included delta-8, providing those products complied with their level of delta-9 THC levels.
Virginia acted upon Senate Bill 903 in reaction to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products ranging from gummies to beverages sold as marijuana alternatives.
Most of these are synthetically produced from CBD derived from hemp and include various compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O, and HHC, which created a fast-growing market.
The law, therefore, was meant to protect consumers from exposure to such intoxicating substances.
While the plaintiffs alleged that Virginia’s law was preempted by federal law and violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, such arguments were rejected by the court, which consequently ruled that the 2018 Farm Bill didn’t preempt Virginia’s regulations.
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The federal law allows states to adopt more restrictive rules concerning hemp production, and Virginia’s law speaks particularly to the total THC content to make sure health and safety concerns are met.
The court also held that the Dormant Commerce Clause was not implicated because the statute treats all in-state and out-of-state parties equally and neither burdens interstate commerce nor favors local business.
In its ruling, the court said that since Virginia had a greater responsibility to care for the local health and safety concerns related to psychoactive hemp products, it could regulate them more strictly than federal law.
Yet the ruling did recognize that the law may have economic consequences for some businesses but found no reason to stop it from coming into force.
Hemp’s Future Under Review In Upcoming Farm Bill
At the federal level, the 2018 Farm Bill—what unwittingly fostered the psychoactive hemp products boom—remains under review.
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Lawmakers have proposed amendments that could even redefine hemp to exclude intoxicating substances altogether.
That would provide a consistent federal standard and perhaps remove the need for state-level regulatory battles, but it would also deal a severe blow to the hemp industry.
Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
