Oren Levy Finally Has His Hemp Back, but the NYPD Nearly Killed His CBD Business – Reason.com - Zuri Davis::
December 30, 2019 - "Oren Levy has spent the last six years selling and promoting the benefits of herbal remedies, including cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound found in both marijuana and hemp. But it wasn't until after Congress decriminalized hemp, the source of Levy's CBD, that Levy had his first shipment confiscated....
"Levy's New York-based Green Angel CBD used FedEx Freight in November 2019 to send a 106-pound shipment of hemp flower from Fox Holler Farms in Vermont to New York. The shipment has an estimated value of $50,000 to $60,000.... FedEx Freight alerted the Williston Police Department (WPD) in Vermont that a customer was possibly attempting to ship marijuana..... WPD ... examined two of the FedEx boxes and ... each box contained documentation showing the plant matter inside had only 0.06 percent THC.... WPD concluded in its report that the product appeared to be legal hemp and declined to seize the shipment....
"After entering New York City, a FedEx driver took Levy's hemp shipment straight to the New York Police Department's 75th Precinct. Officers there ignored the documentation, seized Levy's shipment of hemp as if it were marijuana, and then bragged about their major 'bust' in now-deleted social media posts. The NYPD also contacted Levy, asking him to come to the precinct to pick up his shipment. The call was a ruse. Levy ... sent his brother Ronan Levy in his place. Upon his arrival, Ronan was arrested, charged with six counts of marijuana possession, and jailed....
"With the NYPD in possession of his shipment and his brother in need of legal help, Levy's business began to suffer.... He had to turn to family and friends for money, and then watch helplessly as the NYPD mischaracterized his business. 'My suppliers are scared to deal with me,' he said. 'My clients who have kids are scared to deal with me.'
"The charges against Ronan Levy were officially dropped December 10, but ... the NYPD still had the shipment in its possession and the D.A. wasn't sure how to interpret New York's hemp laws.... New York law defines marijuana as 'all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis,' which includes hemp. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this month that will bring New York hemp laws up to date with the federal farm bill, the specifics won't be ironed out until January at the earliest....
"Just days before Christmas, Levy tweeted that the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office approved the release of his shipment, and he received it on Monday, December 23.... Upon receiving his shipment, Levy was treated to another gift. The paperwork that the NYPD claimed the shipment didn't contain was still attached to the boxes."
Read more: https://reason.com/2019/12/30/oren-levy-finally-has-his-hemp-back-but-the-nypd-nearly-killed-his-cbd-business/
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December 30, 2019 - "Oren Levy has spent the last six years selling and promoting the benefits of herbal remedies, including cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound found in both marijuana and hemp. But it wasn't until after Congress decriminalized hemp, the source of Levy's CBD, that Levy had his first shipment confiscated....
"Levy's New York-based Green Angel CBD used FedEx Freight in November 2019 to send a 106-pound shipment of hemp flower from Fox Holler Farms in Vermont to New York. The shipment has an estimated value of $50,000 to $60,000.... FedEx Freight alerted the Williston Police Department (WPD) in Vermont that a customer was possibly attempting to ship marijuana..... WPD ... examined two of the FedEx boxes and ... each box contained documentation showing the plant matter inside had only 0.06 percent THC.... WPD concluded in its report that the product appeared to be legal hemp and declined to seize the shipment....
"After entering New York City, a FedEx driver took Levy's hemp shipment straight to the New York Police Department's 75th Precinct. Officers there ignored the documentation, seized Levy's shipment of hemp as if it were marijuana, and then bragged about their major 'bust' in now-deleted social media posts. The NYPD also contacted Levy, asking him to come to the precinct to pick up his shipment. The call was a ruse. Levy ... sent his brother Ronan Levy in his place. Upon his arrival, Ronan was arrested, charged with six counts of marijuana possession, and jailed....
"With the NYPD in possession of his shipment and his brother in need of legal help, Levy's business began to suffer.... He had to turn to family and friends for money, and then watch helplessly as the NYPD mischaracterized his business. 'My suppliers are scared to deal with me,' he said. 'My clients who have kids are scared to deal with me.'
"The charges against Ronan Levy were officially dropped December 10, but ... the NYPD still had the shipment in its possession and the D.A. wasn't sure how to interpret New York's hemp laws.... New York law defines marijuana as 'all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis,' which includes hemp. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this month that will bring New York hemp laws up to date with the federal farm bill, the specifics won't be ironed out until January at the earliest....
"Just days before Christmas, Levy tweeted that the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office approved the release of his shipment, and he received it on Monday, December 23.... Upon receiving his shipment, Levy was treated to another gift. The paperwork that the NYPD claimed the shipment didn't contain was still attached to the boxes."
Read more: https://reason.com/2019/12/30/oren-levy-finally-has-his-hemp-back-but-the-nypd-nearly-killed-his-cbd-business/
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