In August of 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration published its Interim Final Rule (IFR) on the Implementation of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, making it effective immediately, and without allowing a Public Comment period in advance. Among other things, the Rule asserts the authority of the DEA over work in progress hemp extract that temporarily exceeds the .03% THC limit for hemp during some production processes.  

Reprising its historic role as defender of the hemp industry, the HIA and its allies crafted a legal strategy to push back against the overreach by the DEA, filing two lawsuits in federal court.