Three licensed hemp retailers in New York filed a lawsuit in which they claim their constitutional rights are being violated in the wake of several raids against licensed operators.
According to the Times Union, the suit was filed late Monday in state Supreme Court in Albany against the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the New York City Sheriff’s Office.
The OCM is the state’s chief cannabis regulator.
The Sheriff’s Office is leading the regulatory inspections that hemp store owners and their attorneys have described as “military-style raids.”
The plaintiffs include:
- Smoke N Save in Saratoga Springs.
- Two Strains in Queensbury.
- Breckenridge in Manhattan.
According to claims from hemp businesses and attorneys, hundreds of hemp shops have been raided or closed since New York launched a statewide crackdown this spring on unlicensed marijuana sellers.
Under state rules, licensed hemp products must contain:
- Less than 0.3% THC by dry weight.
- A CBD-to-THC ratio of 15-to-1.
- Certain labeling information, including manufacturer, bar codes or website links that provide a certificate of analysis from a licensed testing lab.
However, according to court claims in previous and ongoing cases, enforcement officials have been making blind sweeps on hemp products without initiating lab tests or confirming product compositions.
Such allegations underscore a growing conflict between the $32 billion regulated marijuana industry and intoxicating hemp-product competitors, despite several MJ multistate operators recently expanding into hemp-derived product lines.
