Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law prevailed again today by successfully securing a court order for the return of over-the-counter cannabidiol (CBD) products seized by local law enforcement. The estimated retail value of these CBD products exceeded $3,000, which is believed to be the largest seizure of its kind in Adair County.
The original basis for the seizure was the erroneous belief that our client was operating an unlicensed “medical cannabidiol” dispensary under Iowa Code Chapter 124E. Medical cannabidiol in Iowa contains both concentrated CBD and THC extracted from marijuana and is heavily regulated by the Iowa Department of Public Health.
We demonstrated, however, through certificates of analysis and other evidence obtained by the firm that the products were instead hemp-derived extracts containing less than 0.3% THC. As a result, they are no longer considered marijuana and are now explicitly legal to possess under both federal and Iowa law thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, S.F. 599 and H.F. 2581.
Under the circumstances, the return of these CBD products to the distributor was all but guaranteed under Iowa Code section 809.5 because there was no pending criminal prosecution or investigation and the state had not initiated civil forfeiture proceedings.
This is yet another shining example of how the drug defense attorneys at GRL Law apply their understanding of the rapidly evolving hemp jurisprudence to the benefit and relief of our clients.
GRL Law. We know hemp.
