Kentucky Hemp and Vape Associations File Lawsuit Challenging Bill Intended to Curb Youth Vaping

Hemp and vape companies in Kentucky last week filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a recently passed bill intended to curb youth vaping, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The law permits retailers in the state to only sell vape products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or those with a “safe harbor certification.” 

Filed by the Kentucky Vaping Retailers’ Association and the Kentucky Hemp Association, the lawsuit alleges that the law violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and sections of the Kentucky Constitution that limit legislation to only subjects expressed in the title. According to the lawsuit, the bill title only mentions “nicotine products” but the bill applies to other, non-nicotine vapor products.  

Retailers opposed the law prior to its passage on the grounds that the FDA has only approved 23 vape product applications out of more than a million filed, the report says. The retailers argue that if the law is allowed to take effect on January 1, they will have so few products that they will be forced out of business and that many of the products they currently have for sale will become illegal to sell in the state. 

Under the law, retailers selling to people under 21-years-old face fines of up to $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense, and $5,000 for a third offense.