The federal Justice Department late last month filed 25 marijuana sales and weapons charges against the owner of a Wichita, Kansas-based hemp THC store chain that claimed legal protections under the 2018 Farm Bill, court records show.
Justin Lane, 36, a resident of Maize, Kansas, is alleged to have sold marijuana from six locations of High Hopes ICT, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas said in a press release Monday.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment, according to the DOJ.
It’s a rare – and serious – instance of federal charges brought against an operator selling so-called “THCA flower” and other intoxicating hemp-derived THC products while claiming Farm Bill protections.
High Hopes ICT, which billed itself as “Wichita’s first THCA dispensary,” was founded in 2019, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Other merchants selling hemp-derived THC products have encountered state charges or civil enforcement in the form of letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to a phone call seeking comment. Mark Schoenhofer, Lane’s attorney of record, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lane remains in custody after his Feb. 24 indictment, according to a court docket.
Kansas hemp THC operator faces federal drug, weapons charges
Kansas is one of a handful of states without legal medical marijuana or adult-use cannabis access – the kind of environment in which hemp-derived alternatives have flourished.
In November, federal and state law enforcement raided the business’s six locations and Lane’s home, where they found “more than 30 firearms and a flamethrower,” the newspaper reported.
The store marketed and sold products “derived from federally legal hemp” containing “less than 0.3% Delta 9 THC by dry weight,” according to High Hopes’ website.
Such claims have fallen under increased scrutiny by state and federal lawmakers, some of whom have decried the exploitation of a “loophole” that’s seen intoxicating THC products sold across the country outside of regulated cannabis channels and in states where cannabis remains illegal.
Will the federal Justice Department start raiding hemp THC operators?
Uproar over the so-called loophole prompted Congress to take action. Last fall, President Donald Trump signed a spending bill into law that redefines hemp and excludes intoxicating products, including THCA flower, from Farm Bill protections.
That redefinition is scheduled to take effect in November. Hemp advocates have sworn to fight what they say is a de facto ban on an estimated $28 billion industry.
It’s been openly questioned whether federal or state authorities have the power to enforce the ban. But cases like Lane’s could have a chilling effect, legal observers told MJBizDaily.
Kansas has a robust hemp farming industry that’s jeopardized by the new rules, NPR reported.
