Attorney General Griffin Leads Letter with 34 AGs Urging Congress to Preserve Federal Hemp Reforms and Prevent the Return of Intoxicating Hemp Products

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today announced he is leading a bipartisan letter with 34 other Attorneys General urging Congress to preserve hemp reforms enacted in 2025 and reject efforts to reopen loopholes that allowed intoxicating hemp products to enter the marketplace.

The letter, led by Griffin alongside Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, warns that rolling back the current federal definition of hemp would create regulatory uncertainty, disrupt businesses that have already adapted to the law, and allow unregulated intoxicating hemp products to return to store shelves and into the hands of our children.

Griffin issued the following statement:

“Congress was absolutely right when it acted last year and adopted a clearer, more responsible framework for hemp regulation. States, businesses, consumers, and regulators have spent months adapting to the impending new standard, and many states have aligned their laws accordingly. Reopening this loophole would create confusion, invite litigation, and undermine the progress we’ve made to protect consumers. The bottom line is simple: Republicans and Democrats across the country agree that intoxicating hemp products shouldn’t be accessible to our kids. We urge federal lawmakers to maintain the current definition of hemp and support a consistent national approach that protects public safety.”

Joining Attorneys General Griffin, Rokita, Tong, and Torrez on the letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

To read a copy of the letter, click here.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

###