In what may have been the state’s first felony prosecution involving Delta-8-THC products, our firm was able to get our client’s felony drug charges completely dismissed this week, and we helped him recover almost $20,000 that law enforcement seized from his business, a regional vape store chain in the metro Atlanta area.
Back in 2021, our client and his family members were arrested and charged with felony drug dealing charges, and their stores were raided by law enforcement. The police alleged that they were selling illegal THC products at their vape stores, including edibles containing Delta-8-THC. Under Georgia law, however, Delta-8-THC is legal in any quantity, as is any other hemp product containing less than 0.3% Delta-9-THC. The specific isomer of THC matters, and law enforcement was wrong regarding both the chemistry and the law in this case.
Our client hired us based on our experience representing individuals in the hemp industry, and we mounted an aggressive defense. Shortly after our client’s arrest, we got him released on bond and filed paperwork to get back almost $20,000 that law enforcement had taken from his business based on the criminal charges. We got his money back within a year.
For the next three years, however, the State did not indict our client or his family. That changed in mid 2024 our client, who had never been in trouble with the law before, was indicted and charged with felony drug dealing offenses relating to the illegal trafficking of THC. His wife and son-in-law were charged too.
This week, however, our client and his family members’ charges were dismissed without a trial, and their names and records will soon be cleared. After we filed aggressive pre-trial motions to dismiss the case and met with the District Attorney’s leadership team, the State agreed to allow our client and his family members into a pretrial diversion program that would result in their charges getting dismissed and their records sealed upon completion.
Critically, our client did not have to admit any fault or make any kind of admission of guilt, which defendants usually have to do to qualify for pretrial diversion. In this case, however, we made clear we were not willing to admit any guilt, and the State agreed to waive that requirement for client.
We were ready to go to trial and confident we would win. Ultimately, however, these are hard choices that are ultimately up to the client–not the lawyer. Based on the terms we secured for them, our client and his family decided to take a pretrial diversion offer rather than sink more money, time, and energy into defending themselves against the bogus charges. In the end, they only had to attend a 2-hour class and pay a fee of a few hundred dollars.
At the end of the day, our clients won’t have an arrest or conviction on their record, they won’t serve any jail time, and they got their money back and won’t have to pay any fines or financial penalties. They may even be able to recover for the damages they suffered from their wrongful arrests and the raids of their stores. Fortunately, our client trusted us with his case, and we were able to deliver a successful outcome.
