Law Enforcement

A judge in Hanover County, Virginia has tossed a cannabis possession charge after a laboratory supervisor claimed in court that their lab could not differentiate between illegal cannabis and legal hemp CBD flower.

The Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against Lebanon County after officials decided to stop allowing people who are on parole or probation from participating in the state medical cannabis program.

California cannabis and hemp operator Kushy Punch was raided by state officials last week, who said the company was distributing cannabis on the unregulated marketplace. Kushy Punch’s CEO said the allegations are “completely false.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska says it has developed a test capable of differentiating hemp from cannabis plants; the field test was validated by the sheriff’s laboratory.

Multiple interstate hemp shipments have been seized by Idaho police — at least one shipment has been returned but, in another incident, a trucker still faces a potential five-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

Jasiel Correia, the mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, was arrested this morning and charged with extorting state-licensed cannabis companies.

A group of six people allegedly stole about $250,000 worth of freshly cured cannabis flower from a cultivation facility in Kelso, Washington over the weekend; owners are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Law enforcement in Sonoma County have shut down an illegal cannabis grow op containing more than 63,000 plants — it is the county’s largest cannabis bust, ever.

Citing racial discrimination issues, police and prosecutors in Jefferson County, Kentucky will no longer pursue low-level cannabis possession crimes if it’s the only or primary charge.

Nearly everyone arrested for low-level cannabis crimes in New York City so far in 2019 has been Black or Latinx, despite the continued liberalization of New York cannabis laws.

Ashtabula County, Ohio has joined the growing ranks of local jurisdictions that have opted out of enforcing cannabis laws in light of hemp’s newly legal status.

With hemp legalization having spurred many prosecutors to turn away from cannabis cases, the U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Northern District says he will take over the prosecution of cannabis-related cases.

The FBI says it is seeking information about cannabis companies who may have obtained a permit through illegal means, such as by bribing a corrupt public official.

In a unanimous ruling, the Maryland Court of Appeals said that police cannot use cannabis odor alone as justification for conducting a personal search during a vehicle stop; vehicle searches, however, are still allowed.

The de-facto cannabis reforms resulted from national hemp legalization have reached several Nebraska counties, where police are suspending cannabis enforcement until they can differentiate cannabis and hemp products.

Following hemp’s legalization in the state, law enforcement offices around Georgia are beginning to suspend low-level cannabis enforcement — the latest is the Cobb County, Georgia police force.

Following the legalization of industrial hemp in Georgia, officials in Gwinnett County have announced they will no longer prosecute or make arrests for misdemeanor cannabis cases.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have approved legislation banning hemp flower starting in 2020 due to police complaints that hemp flower will interfere with their cannabis enforcement efforts.

The California Bureau of Cannabis Control and state law enforcement agencies have seized a combined $30 million worth of cannabis products, cash, and weapons from the unregulated industry since 2018.

Due to the hemp legalization law passed by Texas last month, some cities are dropping cannabis possession charges as it has become too hard to distinguish between industrial hemp flower and cannabis.

Some law enforcement groups in Florida will stop arresting or detaining people for cannabis odor because hemp products — which are now legal in the state — can smell and appear identical to cannabis.

Canada has approved a new device to test drivers for potential cannabis intoxication; the test will be used to validate further investigation, either via a drug recognition evaluation or blood sample.

A Humboldt County church that uses cannabis as a sacrament is suing the state after being raided by law enforcement. During the raid, police seized property and destroyed cannabis plants that were inside of a greenhouse.

Just over 19,000 cannabis plants in Siskiyou County, California have been seized by law enforcement officials in the last month. County officials there have banned outdoor cultivation but patients can still grow up to 12 plants (up to six for non-medical users) indoors.