What kind of morons do we have running the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Bismarck Police Department? Forgive me for being so blunt, but last week’s raids on two Bismarck stores carrying CBD (cannabidiol) Oil has to be one of the most asinine moves by law enforcement in the history of the state.
CBD Oil is a by-product of hemp and is "non-psychoactive", meaning that a person cannot get high from it, because its THC levels are less than 1%. Yet in December, the DEA put CBD Oil on the Schedule 1 list. The same categorization as things like heroin and LSD– a pathetically stupid move for sure. But then again, we’ve come to expect such things from the Federal Government.
In case you’re not familiar with the story, the Bismarck Police Department’s narcotics unit raided two stores – Terry’s Health Products and the Bismarck Co-Op – and demanded that all CBD Oil be removed from their shelves. They then proceeded to remove samples for testing.
How did this all begin? According to the Bismarck Tribune, "[Sgt. Mike] Bolme said the decision to pursue the store came after a tip from the attorney general’s office."
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, I probably don’t have to remind you that one of the hot news stories in recent months had to do with the issue of Medical Marijuana. Not only did the voter’s of North Dakota overwhelmingly approve of its legalization through an initiated measure (Measure 5), but the state Legislature just finished up a session in which they revamped the measure through Senate Bill 2344 to decriminalize Medical Marijuana and make it available to North Dakotans– a move that will include CBD Oil.
While passing the legislation to legalize Medical Marijuana in North Dakota, legislators knew full well that the products related to it would still be illegal on the Federal level. This was something House Majority Leader Al Carlson (R – District 41) mentioned during floor debate as he advocated for passage of the bill.
While the new Medical Marijuana law will not go into effect until August – and will not be available through legal dispensaries for another 12 to 18 months – I cannot help but wonder what the rationale is behind the Attorney General’s Office and Bismarck Police Department’s decision to pursue shutting down the sale of CBD Oil?
The two Bismarck raids were not isolated cases either. The Tobacco Depot in Watford City and Alexander had both of their locations raided by the Northwest Narcotics Task Force on April 5th. Those raids involved 15 officers. Think of it… 15 officers to execute a search warrant for something that can’t even get you high!
I personally don’t care whether the agencies involved want to cite current North Dakota law – that is soon to change – or Federal law. There is simply no rational justification to spend taxpayer’s money and resources enforcing these ridiculous laws in relation to CBD Oil.
Does Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the Bismarck Police Department, and the Northwest Narcotics Task Force honestly have nothing better to do? It really makes a person wonder who they’re truly working for? Someone needs to send them all a memo demanding they find something more productive to do, because right now all they’re doing is wasting taxpayer dollars. And they look like idiots while they’re doing it. Embarrassing.
Sources:
1. http://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/test-of-products-at-terrys-health-products-and-food-co-op-positive-for-cannabinol/712742774
2. http://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/narcotics-task-force-raids-tobacco-store-confiscates-products/712746974
3. http://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/two-bismarck-stores-raided-by-police-over-cbd-oil/711891347
4. http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bismarck-police-cracks-down-on-cbd-hemp-oil/article_2fd4dbcc-4ba7-5f5e-ac66-e6e882c1175b.amp.html
5. http://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/senate-bill-2344-the-medical-marijuana-bill-has-one-last-step-before-becoming-law/691705864
6. http://video.legis.nd.gov/pb2/powerbrowser_Desktop.aspx?wowzaplaystart=2371000&ContentEntityId=1915&MediaStart=2017-04-04T13%3a34%3a31-06%3a00&browser=0
7. http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-0630-05000.pdf
8. http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com/what-is-cbd-hemp-oil/
9. http://herb.co/2016/07/26/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cbd/
10. http://www.newser.com/story/235657/now-a-schedule-1-drug-cbd-hemp-oil.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&utm_campaign=rss_health_syn
