Editor’s note – This article was written by Kight Law attorney Amber Lengacher.

Legislative sessions in many states have wrapped or soon will and there have been a flurry of state laws passed regarding hemp cannabinoid products. From Arkansas to Maine, we’ve seen some recent actions that are important for hemp businesses nationwide.

STATE LAW ROUND-UP FOR CONNECTICUT, MAINE, ARKANSAS, AND MARYLAND

Connecticut

In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont signed HB 6855, enacting Public Act No. 25-101, with some provisions effective immediately upon signing and others taking effect as late as January 1, 2026.

The new law includes permissions starting on October 1, 2025 for “any person who is not a moderate-THC hemp product vendor or a licensed cannabis establishment” to sell “hemp flower”, as defined, provided:

• Such sales are conducted exclusively through:
  • A direct, in-person exchange on commercial premises that:
    • Requires such person’s assistance, or the assistance of such person’s agent or employee, to access hemp flower, and
    • Maintains all hemp flower
      • Behind a sales county that is inaccessible to consumers or
      • In a locked container or
    • Through delivery, including but not limited to, delivery made by way of a transaction conducted on an internet website or by mail order.
  • The person ensures the age of the individual who purchases and receives the hemp flower is verified, prior to purchase and upon delivery, with a valid government-issued driver’s license or identity card to establish that such individual is 21 years of age or older. This requirement also applies to moderate-THC hemp product vendors as well.

Hemp flower is newly defined in the law as the flower, including, but not limited to, any abnormal or immature flower, of hemp, as defined in section 22-61(l) and does not include the leaves or stem of hemp, as defined in said section 22-61(l). According to section 22-61(l), “Hemp” has the same meaning as provided in the federal act.

Maine

Before the end of session in Maine, lawmakers passed LB 1920. This bill became Public Law Chapter 416 without Governor Janet T. Mills’ signature as an emergency measure on June 25, 2025 and went into effect immediately.

The new law creates two categories of cannabinoids: non-intoxicating and potentially intoxicating. “Potentially intoxicating hemp products” are defined as any products derived from hemp and ingestible consumer products, including food, food additives, food products, and beverages derived from hemp, that in their final forms do not contain:

• a concentration of less than 0.3% potentially intoxicating cannabinoids, and
• a ratio of more than 10:1 of nonintoxicating cannabinoids to potentially intoxicating cannabinoids.

By our interpretation, products that do fall within these categories are impliedly considered a non-intoxicating hemp product.

Potentially intoxicating cannabinoids include D10, D8, D9, D7, HHC and more. Nonintoxicating cannabinoids include CBD, THCV, CBC, CBTC, CBL, CBE, CBG, CBDV, and CBN.

Under the new law, which took effect immediately upon passage, potentially intoxicating hemp products may not be sold to any individual under the age of 21. Products other than beverages, salves, and topicals must be packaged in child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging. No hemp products may be labeled or packaged in violation of a federal trademark law or regulation or in a manner that would cause a reasonable consumer confusion as to whether the item was a different trademarked product.

Arkansas

Of course, we’ve all heard about Act 629 (adopted by the Arkansas legislature in 2023) and the recent 8^th Circuit court ruling (covered in a Kight Law blog here). After that Bio Gen LLC, et al v. Sanders, et al ruling, on June 24, 2025, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin released a statement indicating that his office had successfully defended Arkansas’ ban on “dangerous psychoactive hemp products”. Additionally, the Arkansas Tobacco Control Board, charged with enforcement under Act 629, posted an Important Announcement on its website. This announcement included both a copy of the 8^th Circuit decision in Bio Gen, as well as a Hemp Notification and Guidance document to permit holders. This document states that “tetrahydrocannabinols” as defined in Arkansas’ controlled substances act, are Schedule VI controlled substances.

Importantly though, another piece of Arkansas legislation passed this session, SB 533, which became Public Act 934 on April 22, 2025 after delivery to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Public Act 924 is contingently effective upon 1 of 4 actions occurring:

• A final judgement in the case of Bio Gen LLC, et al v. Sanders, et al, 4:23-cv-00718-BRW, and any subsequent appeals upholds the legality of Acts 2023, No.629;
• The United States Congress explicitly delegates the authority to the states to more stringently regulate or ban hemp-derived products;
• The United States Congress amends the Agricultural Marketing 4 Act of 1946 to exclude from the definition of hemp any intoxicating cannabinoids or otherwise disallows intoxicating hemp-derived products; or
• The United States Congress amends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or passes a new Agriculture Improvement Act that excludes from the definition of hemp any intoxicating cannabinoids or otherwise disallows intoxicating hemp-derived substances.

The Arkansas Attorney General is required to notify the Director of the Bureau of Legislative Research and the Arkansas Code Revision Commission if he or she makes a certification of the new law. It is currently unclear whether AG Griffin has certified Public Act 934 at this time.

Interestingly, Public Act 934 creates a category of “consumable hemp products” which may contain up to one milligram of “total THC”, as defined, and a minimum ratio of CBD to THC of greater than 15:1. “Total tetrahydrocannabinol” is defined as “the total concentration of all tetrahydrocannabinols, including delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid or its decarboxylated equivalent, and any other chemically similar compound, substance, derivative, or isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol, and any other cannabinoid identified by the Arkansas Tobacco Control Board.”

The new law creates licenses for businesses that operate in the space, testing requirements, age restrictions, enforcement penalties, and more. Also new, the law would require the Arkansas Tobacco Control Board to establish a process for and release a consumable hemp product directory by December 1, 2025.

Maryland

Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed several new bills regarding hemp into law this year. There were previous legal challenges in Maryland (discussed in this Kight Law blog here) after the state legislature tried to limit hemp products to the monopolistic cannabis program in 2023.

Fast forward to this year, multiple pieces of legislation were enacted in the 2025 legislative session, all of which became effective on July 1, 2025:

• SB 214 (Public Chapter 58) and HB 12 (Public Chapter 57) create additional offenses for the sale and distribution of “cannabis” without proper permissions.
• SB 215 (Public Chapter 120) revises Maryland’s cannabis law and creates a new definition of “Cannabinoid Beverages”, which can contain up to 5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, as defined, per serving (though they must be single-serving products). Testing, packaging, and labeling requirements apply. “Cannabinoid beverages” are included in the definition of “cannabis products” and are limited to cannabis licensees but are excluded from certain taxes under the new law.

The same organization that initiated legal challenges back in 2023 is challenging the legality of SB 215 as well.

Interestingly, on May 15, 2025, the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (“ATCC”) issued an update about THC Compliance Standards, saying the new laws above empower  the ATCC to address the wide range of THC products sold outside of the state’s licensed cannabis system, including those with D8, D9, D10, and other lab-made forms of THC that can cause intoxication. According to the ATCC, the new legislation requires that all THC products intended for human consumption or inhalation follow the same packaging, labeling, and manufacturing standards used by licensed cannabis dispensaries regulated by the Maryland Cannabis Administration. The update does make a distinction between intoxicating products and those under 0.5mgs of THC per serving/2.5mg of THC per package, but those distinctions are not referenced in the labeling section of the update. Per the ATCC, unlicensed businesses selling non-compliant products are subject to misdemeanor charges and fines up to $5,000.

July 7, 2025

This article was written by Kight Law attorney Amber Lengacher. Kight Law represents hemp businesses in the US and throughout the world.