Big Cannabis Bust Turns Out to be Legal Hemp

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he New York Police Department (NYPD) bragged about a recent seizure of 106 pounds of cannabis—but it turns out the product was actually legally-grown hemp by licensed farmers from Vermont, bound for a CBD store in Brooklyn, New York. 

The NYPD Twitter account posted about the “bust”, showing two officers surrounded by bags of what they believed to be illegal cannabis.

“Officers Greenidge and Ganshaw from the @NYPD75Pct used precision policing and relentless follow-up, along with a great working relationship with @FedEx and other local law enforcement officials, to confiscate 106 pounds of marijuana that was destined for our city streets,” the tweet read.

Officers Greenidge and Ganshaw from the @NYPD75Pct used precision policing and relentless follow-up, along with a great working relationship with @FedEx and other local law enforcement officials, to confiscate 106 pounds of marijuana that was destined for our city streets. pic.twitter.com/OnRyLsH90D

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 5, 2019

Oren Levy, owner of Green Angel CBD, claims a FedEx driver reported the shipment to the 75th Precinct when it arrived, even though it had all the necessary documentation to prove it was legal hemp. Levy claims the cops used an outdated method when testing his crop, which documents showed to contain 0.14 percent THC, well below the federal limit of 0.3 percent established by the 2018 Farm Bill. Andrew Subin, a lawyer with the Vermont farm that sold the plants to Levy, said the officers had to ask him what the legal THC limit was.

“I want it back. It’s 100 percent legal,” Levy said. “I have helped thousands of people — people with cancer, people with autism, pain, arthritis, people with severe skin issues, people who haven’t slept for weeks. We are a legitimate business.”

Two Colorado farmers had a similar experience with their hemp crop and a FedEx delivery. Brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen were using FedEx to send a shipment of hemp to California when the driver made a stop in Kansas, only to be pulled over and arrested for transporting what was thought to be cannabis.