Arkansas Act 629 of 2023 — The Hemp / Delta-8 Ban (SB 358)

Legal Disclaimer: This information reflects Arkansas cannabis law as of May 2026 and is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change — always verify current rules with the Arkansas Department of Health, Medical Marijuana Section or a qualified attorney. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Last verified: May 2026

What Act 629 Does

Act 629 of 2023 (originally Senate Bill 358) was signed by Governor Sanders in April 2023. The Arkansas hemp/Delta-8 statute does the following:

Classifies as Schedule VI controlled substances: delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, delta-6a, delta-10a, and synthetic cannabinoids manufactured from CBD or other hemp-derived precursors.
Caps hemp products at 0.3% delta-9 THC in the finished product. This is the critical change from the federal Farm Bill standard, which measures 0.3% by dry weight of the cannabis plant. The "finished product" measurement closes the loophole that allowed high-dose hemp-derived delta-9 edibles to qualify as legal hemp under federal law.
Imposes labeling and marketing restrictions on remaining lawful hemp products.
Establishes penalties for sale of newly Schedule-VI products outside the licensed Amendment 98 dispensary system.

The Federal Context: The 2018 Farm Bill

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (the "2018 Farm Bill") legalized hemp federally and removed it from the Controlled Substances Act, defining hemp as cannabis with ≤0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. The Farm Bill’s narrow definition inadvertently legalized a wave of psychoactive hemp-derived cannabinoids:

Delta-8 THC — isomer of delta-9 with similar but somewhat milder psychoactive effects, synthesizable from CBD.
Delta-10 THC — another isomer.
THCP — a more potent natural cannabinoid found in trace amounts in hemp.
HHC (hexahydrocannabinol) — a hydrogenated form of THC.
High-dose hemp-derived delta-9 edibles — large gummies that contain >10mg of delta-9 THC but stay below the 0.3%-by-dry-weight threshold by virtue of including substantial non-cannabis biomass per package.

By 2022–2023, these hemp-derived intoxicants had proliferated in gas stations, vape shops, and smoke shops nationwide. Estimated GA hemp-derived intoxicant market alone hit ~$5.5B; AR’s smaller market still represented hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales.

The Bio Gen Federal Lawsuit

Within months of Act 629’s passage, four hemp businesses sued in federal court to block enforcement. The plaintiffs:

The Cigarette Store LLC (Smoker Friendly).
Bio Gen LLC of Fayetteville.
Drippers Vape Shop LLC of Greenbrier.
Sky Marketing Corp. (Hometown Hero) of Austin, Texas.

The defendants named in the lawsuit included Governor Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin, and 28 prosecuting attorneys. The plaintiffs argued that the federal Farm Bill preempted Arkansas’s state-level reclassification, that Act 629’s vagueness violated due process, and that the act represented an unconstitutional restriction on interstate commerce.

The September 2023 Preliminary Injunction

In September 2023, U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson issued a preliminary injunction blocking Act 629’s enforcement. The injunction held that the 2018 Farm Bill’s federal preemption likely barred Arkansas’s reclassification of federally lawful hemp products, and that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits.

Between September 2023 and July 2025, Arkansas hemp-derived intoxicants continued to be sold under the federal Farm Bill standard — the state could not enforce its 2023 reclassification. Smoke shops, vape stores, and gas stations continued to stock delta-8 gummies, delta-9 edibles above the finished-product threshold, and various hemp-derived cannabinoid products.

The Eighth Circuit Reversal (July 1, 2025)

On July 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction. The Eighth Circuit ruled that the 2018 Farm Bill "facilitates" but does not require state legalization of hemp products. The Court held: "States may obtain primary regulatory authority over hemp production. And with that primary regulatory authority, states may ‘regulate the production of hemp’ in any manner ‘more stringent than [the 2018 Farm Bill].’"

The ruling was a significant federalism decision — affirming that states retain authority to regulate hemp products more strictly than the federal Farm Bill. It vindicated AG Tim Griffin’s legal theory and Sen. Tyler Dees’s legislative architecture.

What Happened Next: Act 934 and August 27, 2025 Certification

The 2025 Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 934 (also sponsored by Sen. Dees) updating the 2023 framework with permit fees, specific definitions, and a trigger provision tying enforcement to a final judgment in the Bio Gen litigation. On August 27, 2025, AG Griffin formally certified that the litigation had concluded, activating the new enforcement regime. Full coverage on the enforcement-2025 page.

Practical Effect (May 2026)

Sales of delta-8 THC products are illegal in Arkansas.
Sales of delta-10 THC products are illegal.
Sales of hemp-derived delta-9 edibles with finished-product delta-9 above 0.3% are illegal.
Sales of most THCa flower are illegal (THCa flower typically converts to delta-9 THC when heated, exceeding the finished-product threshold).
Synthetic cannabinoids (HHC, certain forms of THCP, etc., synthetic) are Schedule VI controlled substances.
Arkansas’s licensed medical-cannabis dispensaries do not sell hemp-derived intoxicants — the licensed dispensaries operate under Amendment 98 with cannabis-specific regulations.
Convenience stores, vape shops, gas stations, and smoke shops cannot legally sell delta-8 / delta-10 / hemp-derived-delta-9 edibles or THCa flower.

What Remains Lawful

Hemp-derived CBD products with ≤0.3% delta-9 THC in the finished product.
Industrial hemp for textiles, building materials, food, and other non-intoxicant uses.
Hemp seeds and hemp-seed-derived products (hemp-seed oil, hemp protein, etc.).

Ongoing Litigation Over THCa

Ongoing litigation is expected over THCa specifically — a compound not clearly addressed in the text of either Act 629 or Act 934. THCa is the natural acidic precursor to delta-9 THC found in raw cannabis flower; it converts to delta-9 THC when heated (smoked, vaped, or baked). Whether THCa flower (which is legally hemp at 0.3% delta-9 by dry weight) becomes delta-9 above the 0.3% finished-product threshold when consumed is the technical question. Arkansas DFA enforcement has, in practice, treated THCa flower as Schedule VI; some retailers contest this position.