NYC cops seize CBD merchant's hemp supply

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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SD Libertarians launch hemp legalization website

'Hemp. We're On It': State Libertarian Party Launches Parody Website - KDLT News:
December 12, 2019 - "There’s a new campaign for legalizing industrial hemp in South Dakota and it has a familiar slogan. The South Dakota Libertarian Party launched this website called ‘Hemp. We’re on it.’ It’s a parody of Governor Noem’s anti-meth campaign, ‘Meth. We’re on it.’ The website also mirrors the one for the anti-meth campaign with links to resources like contacting state lawmakers....

"Governor Noem vetoed a bill earlier this year saying legalizing hemp will legalize marijuana by default. State lawmakers are currently working on a new, similar bill."
Read more: https://www.kdlt.com/2019/12/12/hemp-were-on-it-state-libertarian-party-launches-parody-website/

South Dakota Hemp Education and Awareness Campaign:
"The state legislature already passed legalization of industrial hemp once, only to have Governor Kristi Noem veto the bill because she doesn’t believe her constituents are responsible enough to grow hemp, even though industrial hemp has only a mere fraction of the THC of marijuana.....

"The benefits of industrial hemp have been recognized since long before its prohibition, and neighboring states are already profiting from its growth. Legalization would mean a new, competitive cash crop for our farmers, and a new industry for South Dakota businesses and consumers to develop.

Please sign our petition and get involved. To quote that other website, “With the help of all South Dakotans, we can ensure the bright futures of our communities are realized.'"
Read more: http://onhemp.org/
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Hemp legalization cut cannabis prosecutions

'I feel lucky, for real': How legalizing hemp accidentally helped marijuana suspects - Jon Schuppe, NBC News:

August 18, 2019 - "With the passage of new hemp-legalization laws over the past eight months, crime labs across the country have suddenly found themselves unable to prove that a leafy green plant taken from someone’s car is marijuana, rather than hemp. Marijuana looks and smells like hemp but has more THC, the chemical that makes people high.

"Without the technology to determine a plant’s THC level, labs can’t provide scientific evidence for use in court. Without that help, prosecutors have to send evidence to expensive private labs that can do the tests or postpone cases until local labs develop their own tests, a process that could take months.

"Rather than deal with prohibitive costs or lengthy delays, prosecutors in several states, including Texas, Florida and Ohio, are dropping low-level pot cases altogether or declining to bring new ones. Police in those states are now unsure whether their age-old pretext for searching cars ─ the smell of pot ─ is still valid. Some have been told not to make any arrests for marijuana possession, although they can issue tickets and confiscate the suspected drugs for testing later.

"There is no way to determine how many cases have been imperiled by the new laws, but they number in the hundreds, perhaps thousands, law enforcement officials say.... Some observers have described the hemp laws as de facto decriminalization, although lawmakers insist that’s not the case....

"[T]he 2018 Farm Bill, passed by Congress in December, ... made made hemp a legal crop.... In order to distinguish hemp from marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law, Congress defined hemp as having less than 0.3 percent of THC. The Farm Bill left it to states to pass their own laws on cultivating hemp; 47 states have done so, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most of those states adopted the 0.3 percent standard....

"Before hemp was legalized, all the labs usually had to do on pot cases was conduct a relatively cheap and quick series of tests that showed whether something came from a cannabis plant.... Now, many will have to purchase new testing equipment, hire more staff, train staff on new testing methods and get the methods approved for use in court.

"In Tennessee, the state Bureau of Investigation has asked prosecutors to be selective in the pot cases they choose to pursue, and to not submit evidence from misdemeanor pot cases until labs develop new testing procedures.... Several counties in Georgia said they have stopped pursuing misdemeanor marijuana charges. In Florida, prosecutors in at least four judicial circuits have told police they won’t file marijuana cases without a lab test."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i-feel-lucky-real-how-legalizing-hemp-accidentally-helped-marijuana-n1043371
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New York farmers call for cannabis legalization

New York farmers: Legalize marijuana so we can grow it - Jon Campbell, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

June 12, 2019 - "The New York Farm Bureau issued a memo Monday backing a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in New York, which lawmakers are considering before they end their annual session June 19.

"The bill, which is struggling to gain enough support in the Democrat-led Senate, includes measures meant to ensure struggling farmers in New York's poorer counties get a chance to break in to the marijuana and hemp extract industries. That was enough to garner the support of the organization representing thousands of farms in the state....

"The Farm Bureau's backing comes as pro-marijuana lawmakers are courting their fellow lawmakers to pledge their support for the bill, which would create a new Office of Cannabis Management to oversee the recreational and medicinal marijuana industries, as well as the hemp extract industry. Only those above the age of 21 would be able to legally purchase marijuana, and local governments would have the ability to hold a public referendum to block legal sales within their borders....

"The Farm Bureau's support could help draw the backing of rural lawmakers, some of whom have been on the fence and are often eager to help the agriculture industry. 'Including New York agriculture both as cultivators and as advisors for cannabis would help make this program a success for the state, if legalized,' the Farm Bureau wrote.

"As of last week, 30 Senate Democrats had pledged support for legalizing marijuana or were leaning that way, while nine were leaning against it or undecided. A bill needs 32 total votes to pass, and the Senate's Democratic majority doesn't often bring bills to the floor for a vote unless they have enough Democratic votes to pass them.... Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to sign it if passed."

Read more: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/06/11/new-york-farmers-legalize-marijuana-so-we-can-grow/1409855001/
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U.S. Congress votes to legalize hemp

Congress Passed the 2018 Farm Bill, Legalizing Hemp. What’s Next for Cannabis Businesses? - Cannabis Business Times - Eric Sandy & Melissa Schiller:

December 13, 2018 - "Congress federally legalized hemp with the Dec. 12 passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.... The $867 billion agriculture law cleared the Senate Dec. 11 with a 87-13 vote before gaining approval in the House Dec. 12 with a 369-47 vote. The bill has been sent to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

"The Farm Bill removes hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and allows farmers to pursue federal hemp cultivation permits, while individual states can regulate the industry within their borders as they see fit. Already, 40 states have established hemp cultivation 'pilot programs' for industrial and commercial purposes, although the plant has been strictly regulated....

"Hemp cultivation became illegal in the U.S. in 1937, under provisions in the Marihuana Tax Act, which was drafted by prohibitionist Harry Anslinger. In the intervening eight decades, American culture has steadily warmed to the idea of reviving the agricultural commodity and its many commercial uses....

"The legislation will supersede the recently expired 2014 Farm Bill, which had granted states the ability to create those hemp production pilot programs. The manufacture and sale of hemp-derived CBD, however, was strictly regulated and sometimes left out of states’ medical cannabis market frameworks.

"Now, with hemp set to be treated as an agricultural product, the U.S. FDA or state departments of agriculture will provide oversight of the plant’s cultivation....

“'While the Farm Bill presents exciting opportunities for U.S. agriculture and the hemp industry, it is still unclear what the final status of CBD will be,' said Jordan Friedman, CEO and co-founder of Zodaka, a cannabis payment platform.... Hemp is primarily a cheap source of CBD, which [has] become a hot commodity, and the passage of the Farm Bill ensures that people who farm and create products with CBD are protected from prosecution, Joseph said.... More retailers will likely start integrating CBD products into their stores, as well....

"Hemp legalization will also lend support to what is already becoming a multi-billion-dollar American agriculture industry, according to Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., a U.S.-based hemp cultivator....

"And cultivating hemp can also help eliminate contaminants in the soil.... Hemp will absorb [pollutants] voraciously, neutralize them and break them down into harmless components."

Read more: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/2018-farm-bill-hemp-cannabis-businesses/
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