Several hemp retailers in the state who say they’ve been improperly accused of selling illegal marijuana products have high hopes for a state Supreme Court decision expected by the end of the month.
Hemp store owners this summer sued the state Office of Cannabis Management after police confiscated thousands of dollars of product they argue they’re legally licensed to sell through the state agency.
Both hemp and marijuana flower are cannabis products that look and smell identical. Federal law allows the sale of hemp products with 0.3% or less of the cannabinoid Delta-9 THC, or the chemical compound that makes a user feel high.
But a discrepancy in state law has created a gray area for police and state inspectors to distinguish hemp stores from illicit marijuana shops — leaving hemp retailers caught in the crossfire.
“Hemp is cannabis, marijuana is cannabis,” said attorney Josh Bauchner, who represents the hemp licensees. “But the state says that if we call hemp ‘cannabis,’ just that label is illegal.”
The lawsuit in state Supreme Court alleges the state’s enforcement regulations are unconstitutional, and fail to give New Yorkers due process when they’re accused of illegally selling marijuana and before they’ve had a hearing.
“You cannot be labeled a criminal without due process,” Bauchner said.
The suit also challenges police and OCM applying regulations intended for people selling marijuana without a license to state-issued hemp licensees.
“The city and state laws grant the OCM or sheriff the authority to engage in enforcement activity against nonlicensees,” Bauchner explained, adding they legally cannot be applied to New Yorkers with a state-issued cannabis license.
A judge is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.
About $15 million in this year’s state budget expanded OCM’s enforcement arm to crack down on thousands of operating illegal marijuana stores and allow local police to padlock them shut.
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