A federal appeals court has declined to weigh in on a lawsuit against the Idaho State Police over the seizure of more than $1 million worth of hemp during a January traffic stop.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled it could not, at least for now, issue a decision on the hotly debated questions about hemp, citing case law declaring it should allow a state court to decide the issues.
During the traffic stop in Ada County, ISP took into custody more than 6,700 pounds of hemp from a semitrailer, and arrested the driver on suspicion of trafficking in marijuana. The product’s owners, Colorado-based Big Sky Scientific, has since sued the agency, asking for the return of the cargo. State Police have refused, and the hemp remains in its custody, listed as evidence in an adjacent criminal case against the driver, who has an upcoming court date this month.
Unlike federal law, Idaho law does not make a distinction between hemp and marijuana. While both substances contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, industrial hemp, by law, contains no more than 3-tenths of a percent of the chemical and does not produce a high.
Hemp has a plethora of industrial uses, and under the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, hemp is legal at the federal level. Idaho is one of a few states where hemp containing THC is still illegal in any form. An effort to change that in this year’s legislative session was met with fierce opposition from police and prosecutors and was ultimately unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the truck driver’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin October 2nd. He pleaded not guilty and, under Idaho law, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted.(Idaho Statesman)
