IN the early morning hours of late September, some 30 Drug Enforcement Administration agents in tactical gear, with high-powered rifles drawn, raided a warehouse near Raleigh, North Carolina. The officers seized intoxicating hemp-derived THC vapes and joints, along with cash, computers and cars.
The agents, who were armed with a federal search warrant, froze the company’s $1.5 million bank account, and seized half a million dollars’ worth of product.
“They came in full force,” says Jay, the founder of the Wake County-based hemp product manufacturer and distributor who did not want to use his full name due to fear of legal repercussions. (Jay has not been arrested nor charged with a crime.)
Jay’s company, which he founded in 2019, generates about $60 million in annual revenue by selling hemp-derived products with enough delta-9-tetrahydrocanninol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, to get people stoned. But he says his products are federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, which allows the production of hemp and all its derivatives so long as it contains 0.3% of THC or less. Jay says his products are within the legal limit. “I feel like we are currently at war with law enforcement on what we believe is legal,” Jay says.
Over the last several months, joint state and federal task forces have raided more than 100 vape and smoke shops, hemp product manufacturers and distributors in North Carolina, alleging that they are selling marijuana disguised as hemp. (Both hemp and marijuana are varietals of the same plant—cannabis sativa L—but marijuana is illegal in North Carolina.) Jay says he only makes Farm Bill-compliant products but some retailers, law enforcement alleges, have sold illegal cannabis products to children and others have sold marijuana in counterfeit packaging made to look like Oreos, Chips Ahoy! and Doritos. Law enforcement, according to three sources with knowledge, apparently have a list of companies and products that have tested “hot,” meaning the THC levels are over the legal hemp limit, crossing over into marijuana.
“Not only do these products contain unlawful levels of THC, but also other harmful chemicals resulting in some individuals experiencing long-term health issues,” Kemberle Braden, chief of police in Fayetteville, said in a statement regarding the string of raids.
Raleigh-based attorney Morgan Davis, who represents more than 10 hemp business owners who have been raided, says some of her clients have been charged with felonies related to trafficking, possession with intent to sell and the manufacture of marijuana. If convicted, her clients could face considerable prison time.
“The line between criminal and civil liability in this industry is razor thin,” says Morgan. “It’s just a ridiculous overreaction to a regulatory compliance issue. It’s not a crime. It’s like using napalm to get rid of the weeds in your backyard.”
Read the full article at Forbes.
