Police in Wellford, South Carolina have seized a hemp shipment that originated in North Carolina on its way to a distributor in Texas, WYFF4 reports. The 183-pound shipment was cultivated by Bio Lab Global, a licensed hemp company in North Carolina, who called the seizure “a discouraging series of events, but not uncommon” in the hemp industry.
Bio Lab sent documentation of the products’ test results and their hemp license – which is valid until 2022 – to WYFF4 and the results were included in the shipment.
The shipment was headed to Glen McDonald, a Texas hemp distributor, who said he paid between $20,000 and $30,000 for the North Carolina hemp and that his two drivers were “traumatized” by the police. McDonald said that, although the police released the drivers, they confiscated their driver licenses.
“This is a terrible emotional deal that they’re putting us through. And it’s just not fair for other people to go through this in the future. I think that they personally need a test for the side (of) the highway when they run into this. Test it real quick, ‘have a nice day, sir.’ I understand their side – it smells like the other stuff, it looks like it, but it’s not.” – McDonald, to WYYF4
Wellford Police Chief David Green disputed McDonald’s claim, saying that the police officers and drivers were very respectful, that their licenses were returned, and that if the tests come back showing the product is hemp McDonald would have 30 days to claim it.
“We do not want to withhold anything that’s legal from anybody,” Green said in the report. “But the way it’s packaged and the way the investigation has gone up to this point we wanted to do our due diligence in making sure that it is what it’s said to be.”
A sample of the cargo has been sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for testing. Green indicated that after the investigation, authorities would make body and dash-camera footage available to the public.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released guidance allowing hemp to be shipped throughout the U.S. even in states that have yet to adopt hemp policies.
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