Justice 4 Herb issued an urgent response today condemning the sweeping enforcement crackdown announced by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) targeting local hemp retailers. As the state moves to swiftly execute its contested enforcement mandate, Justice 4 Herb is sounding the alarm on what it characterizes as a devastating and legally reckless escalation.
Justice 4 Herb issued an urgent response today condemning the sweeping enforcement crackdown announced by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) targeting local hemp retailers. As the state moves to swiftly execute its contested enforcement mandate, Justice 4 Herb is sounding the alarm on what it characterizes as a devastating and legally reckless escalation.
According to state directives, the DOH is preparing to deploy enforcement operations to inspect, embargo, and ultimately destroy hemp products the state suddenly deems non-compliant under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Chapter 328G and Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Chapter 11-37. Justice 4 Herb asserts that this sudden enforcement blitz throws independent operators into immediate financial peril, subjecting them to the imminent threat of inventory forfeiture, business closure, and other severe penalties.
The coalition contends that initiating a statewide crackdown at this precise moment represents a blatant disregard for the federal judicial process. The enforcement timeline drops while an active civil rights lawsuit and an urgent Motion for Preliminary Injunction sit pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The legal action was filed specifically to halt these extreme enforcement remedies against products fully compliant with the 2018 Farm Bill.
“They are trying to execute a death sentence on independent operators before the federal court has a chance to intervene,” said Lance Alyas, Founder of Justice 4 Herb and a plaintiff in the ongoing federal litigation. “By threatening small business owners with criminal penalties and the outright destruction of their livelihoods, the state is recklessly defying federal law and causing absolute market panic. We refuse to stand by while they terrorize the local market and bypass the federal courts. We believe enforcement must be stayed immediately.”
The underlying lawsuit, brought by plaintiffs Lance Saher Alyas, individually and doing business as Oahu Dispensary and Provisions LLC, and Kyler Falces-Cachola, individually and doing business as Elevated Enterprises LLC, strikes at the core of the state’s authority. It alleges severe violations of the Supremacy Clause, the dormant Commerce Clause, and procedural due process by state officials.
