Membership Updates

Dear Members and Prospective Members:

For many years, as you know, this organization has been entirely funded by voluntary donations. And it will continue to be funded by voluntary donations. However, there are recent events that require that we change our policies as to membership in this organization, and whether you will be in one of two new membership categories: a Charter Member or an Associate Member.

There are people in the hemp business who have donated very generously to this cause. These donations enabled our success in the Washington County Circuit Court case, from which hundreds if not thousands of hemp retailers all over the State of Maryland have benefitted by staying open for almost an additional two years, while very few of them contributed even one dime to the effort. Donations also allowed us to open the Federal lawsuit that has been filed in the United States District Court of Maryland.

Recent changes in the law as it relates to Federal injunctions have been discussed over the past few weeks with our counsel, and those changes in the law are mandating a change in policies for the Maryland Hemp Coalition at this point. Up until earlier this month, there was a presumption that if a Federal court issued an injunction, it could do so not only on behalf of the named plaintiffs in that case, but also on behalf of all other persons similarly situated. With the release of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Casa, that is now in grave doubt, and a Federal court is limited to whatever injunctive relief is necessary to afford full relief to the parties in a case. In other words, those who are not plaintiffs in the case may be unable to benefit from an injunction unless that benefit is merely “incidental” to the relief ordered by the Court.

In other words, in our view of Trump v. CASA, no longer can a hemp retailer or processor necessarily wait on the sidelines to see whether a lawsuit produces a favorable outcome, without being part of that lawsuit, as any relief ordered by the Court will not necessarily benefit one who is not part of the lawsuit. At the same time, the Maryland Hemp Coalition does not want to expand the lawsuit to an extent where the number of individual plaintiffs becomes overwhelming. Neither does the Maryland Hemp Coalition wish to pursue a class action lawsuit at this time, due to the very high logistical and administrative demands of such a lawsuit.

Therefore, the presently pending Federal lawsuit remains open to amendment to include Charter Members of the Maryland Hemp Coalition. This will require that a Charter Member make a substantial minimum contribution and will require that the Charter Member also enter into a direct agreement with the lawyers representing the Maryland Hemp Coalition in the Federal lawsuit, so that there are no misunderstandings as to what is being pursued and what is required. However, the minimum contribution for a Charter Member will be at least $5000 if that member expects to participate in the lawsuit as a named plaintiff. Associate members, who will receive updates and information, but will not be parties in the lawsuit, will contribute at least $1500.

After years of having both “high donating” and “absolutely not donating” divisions among members of this industry, we must try to close that gap. If someone is not serious enough about the business to donate or participate, but wishes to continue to free ride, they will from this point onward have to do so solo, as we are cutting those people out of the loop. We will be updating Charter and Associate Members monthly, but we will not be giving constant advice to non-contributors who we know are making very substantial incomes from this business. Things are changing and we need only the committed hemp businesses who are truly interested in saving their business and the industry.

If anyone has any questions or comments they may be directed to me via email. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Together we will foster innovation, overcome challenges, and drive the hemp industry's growth and success in Maryland.