Hemp business challenges Tennessee’s discriminatory three-tier system
September 18, 2025
Nashville, Tennessee; September 18, 2025: Kentucky hemp entrepreneurs filed a federal lawsuit yesterday challenging Tennessee’s law that forces legal businesses into an outdated regulatory framework originally designed for alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition. Cornbread Hemp alleges that Tennessee House Bill 1376 violates the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against out-of-state businesses and restricting truthful speech about legal products.
“Tennessee cannot pick winners and losers based on geography rather than merit,” said Chris Barnewolt, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “The Constitution’s Commerce Clause was designed precisely to prevent this type of economic protectionism. Every entrepreneur deserves the freedom to compete on equal terms without discriminatory government barriers.”
Eric Zipperle and Jim Higdon co-founded Cornbread Hemp in 2018 after Congress legalized hemp-derived products through the Farm Bill. They built a thriving business serving nearly 11,000 Tennessee customers, but Tennessee’s new law forces hemp products through a three-tier distribution system historically used only for alcohol, requiring out-of-state suppliers to funnel products through in-state wholesalers and brick-and-mortar retailers.
The lawsuit challenges Tennessee’s discriminatory scheme that favors in-state businesses while forcing out-of-state competitors like Cornbread Hemp to either abandon their established customer base, establish expensive physical operations in Tennessee, or route products through costly middlemen. The law also categorically prohibits health-related claims about hemp products, regardless of their accuracy or scientific support.
A victory would restore equal treatment for legitimate businesses and protect entrepreneurs’ constitutional right to compete without discriminatory state barriers that serve no legitimate public purpose.
Pacific Legal Foundation represents Cornbread Hemp free of charge. The case is Cornbread Hemp v. Roberts.
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About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation is a national nonprofit law firm that defends Americans threatened by government overreach and abuse. Since our founding in 1973, we challenge the government when it violates individual liberty and constitutional rights. With active cases in 34 states plus Washington, D.C., PLF represents clients in state and federal courts, with 18 wins of 20 cases litigated at the U.S. Supreme Court.