MENOMONEE FALLS – The owner of a CBD store in Menomonee Falls says authorities broke into his store and arrested him this week for selling products he believes are legal.
The owner of Superstar Buds said he was informed by detectives in Waukesha County that they had been buying products from him in disguise since January and the test results revealed that they had an illegal amount of THC.
The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Friday that it began investigating after becoming aware of a non-fatal overdose incident involving two young children who accidentally ingested a CBD-related product. The Sheriff’s Office says the suspect product was purchased by the parents of the Superstar Buds children.
The Sheriff’s Office says investigators have obtained evidence that Superstar Buds was selling products containing prohibited levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The office says these products have been labeled by the company as CBD or delta-8-THC.
Superstar Buds in Menomonee Falls appears to have been hit by a tornado, but the owner says this is the aftermath of a police operation.
“It is a disaster at the moment. We probably have more than $ 100,000 in damage among the things they destroyed and seized. I mean, it’s just a disaster, ”says Chris S., owner of Superstar Buds.
Superstar Buds
Chris says dozens of police raided his store and confiscated his best-selling product, Delta 8 THC. He says his other items, like CBD and hemp flower, were destroyed in the process.
“This is soaked. They don’t want us to sell these things, ”he says.
Chris says that he and one of his employees were arrested on the day of the arrest and released 24 hours later, pending multiple drug charges.
“We moved a lot of Delta 8, so I think we were the target because we are launching a lot on the market”.
This is where things get messy. Delta 8 THC is derived from hemp, while Delta 9 THC comes from marijuana. State and federal laws prohibit Delta 9 THC above 0.3% of power, but the laws do not mention Delta 8 at all.
“Delta 8 binds only to your CB1 receptors, so it doesn’t feel cloudy, but it still produces a feeling of joy, euphoria, it just makes you feel happy,” said Chris.
Superstar Buds
Chris is far from being the only Delta 8 retailer in Wisconsin. For about a year, several CBD stores in Milwaukee have been selling the product in the form of flowers, steam cartridges and oils. Hazy Dayz owner Zach Rowe also believes it is legal.
“According to the 2018 Farm Bill, any hemp derivatives and isomers from the cannabis plant, except for delta 9, are technically legal,” said Rowe.
Back in Menomonee Falls, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office claims to be the lead agency in the case and executed a search warrant with the help of the Menomonee Falls police.
The Sheriff’s Office said in its statement on Friday that, in executing the search warrant, investigators seized other company products that have been labeled as CBD or delta-8-THC and are believed to contain prohibited amounts of delta-9 -THC.
The Office adds that three people were arrested at the company in connection with this search warrant. The charges will be brought to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office at a future date, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Chris gave TMJ4 News a copy of the search warrant he received at the time of his arrest. He claims that law enforcement officials have the right to confiscate any items that contain Tetrahydrocannabinol known as THC.
The warrant says the alleged crimes include possession with intent to surrender, manufacturing THC and maintaining a drug trafficking site.
“The law is very clear about being illegal in the state of Wisconsin today,” said state representative Adam Neylon of Pewaukee.
Sean Gallup
The 2018 Wisconsin marijuana pilot program was approved by the legislature with almost unanimous support, including a ‘yes’ vote from Neylon. He believes CBD shopkeepers are misunderstanding the difference between federal and state laws.
“I think some of the owners of these CBD stores are relying on federal law to defend their position when, in fact, it is very clear in the state of Wisconsin that none of these products, CBD or THC, can be sold with psychoactive ingredients in them,” he said.
Neylon says he does not believe that the confusion should result in arrests. He believes that an educational approach would be sufficient.
“This is a difficult situation and I want to say and make it clear that it is not these drug dealers we are talking about,” said Neylon. “These are legitimate business owners and I think the issue is just a misunderstanding of the law. Therefore, I think we should do a better job of informing and educating them about what is legal and what is not legal. “
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