AUSTIN, Texas — A new lawsuit is seeking to halt Texas’ newly implemented THC rules, as hemp industry groups warn the changes could force popular Delta-8 products off shelves and put some businesses at risk of closing.

The Department of State Health Services’ new THC rules went into effect Friday. Under the change, the agency is now classifying delta-8 products as controlled substances, making it illegal to sell those items as of Friday. The restrictions affect hemp-derived THC products including Delta-8 flower and prerolls.

Mark Bordas, executive director of the Texas Hemp Business Council, said the rules threaten a major sector of the state’s economy.

“There’s going to be widespread, irreparable damage done to an $11 billion-a-year industry,” Bordas said.

For retailers, the shift follows years of legal uncertainty around hemp-derived THC products. Estella Castro, owner of Austinite Cannabis Co., said the new rules are forcing immediate decisions about the future of her business.

“Now it’s like, this is actually happening. We have to stop selling on the 31st,” Castro said. She also said the changes could make it difficult to continue operating as before. “I think I’m going to take out North because it’s just, it’s not going to be, you know, really feasible…We have just gotten out of so much, just been just kicked around, man,” Castro said.

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Hemp organizations are asking a federal judge to temporarily block the Department of State Health Services’ ban on Delta-8 products. The lawsuit calls for a federal judge to immediately block enforcement of the new THC rules, arguing the rules violate due process, contradict federal law and unfairly hurt businesses that operate across state lines.

Bordas criticized the agency’s approach. “When unelected bureaucrats decide to create their own law, it’s time to challenge it,” he said.

The next step is up to a federal judge, who will decide whether to grant the request for a temporary restraining order and whether to set an expedited preliminary injunction hearing.