Idaho Police Seize Legal Hemp From Semi-Truck

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]daho State Police officials say troopers made the biggest cannabis bust in agency history after a semi-truck carrying 6,701 pounds of cannabis was seized during a routine inspection. However, the Colorado company that bought the plants says the truck was hauling legal hemp.

Big Sky LLC, which was shipping the products from Oregon to Colorado, said in a lawsuit that the truck driver was hauling hemp, which is now legal under the U.S. Farm Bill. Big Sky wants its product returned and demands an apology from Idaho authorities.

Truck driver Denis Palamarchuck faces charges of felony cannabis trafficking after being pulled over by an Idaho state trooper for an inspection as he entered a weigh station. The truck’s bill of lading listed hemp as the good being hauled in the truck. The officer opened one of the 31 shipping bags and tested a sample that came back positive for THC. Palamarchuck was immediately arrested and charged with felony trafficking of cannabis. Because of Idaho’s mandatory minimum laws that prohibit transporting more than 25 pounds of cannabis, Palamarchuck is facing five years in prison and a minimum fine of $15,000 if found guilty.

“Between the field test and the K9 indication, Idaho State Police feel strongly that the load was actually marijuana and not hemp,” ISP spokesman Tim Marsano said. “However, we have sent a sample of the load to an independent laboratory for further analysis.”

Cultivating hemp is illegal in Idaho, but if it contains under 0.3 percent THC, then hemp is federally legal in the United States. Representatives from Big Sky said they bought about 13,000 pounds of industrial hemp from Boones Ferry Berry Farms, which is licensed with the Oregon Department of Agriculture as a registered hemp grower. Big Sky said it tested 19 samples from the farm’s hemp crop Jan. 17 and found the THC level to be 0.043 percent THC, far below the federal legal limit of 0.3 percent.