NEWS
Turmoil in
Tennessee
Tennessee Police raid vape shops over
rumours about CBD
By Leo Forfar
On February 12, 23 stores in Rutherford,
Tennessee were raided, shut down and
padlocked in a sudden crackdown of products
containing CBD. The venture was dubbed
Operation Candy Crush and consisted of
officers from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s
Office, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne
police departments. Officers working for
the FBI, DEA and Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation (TBI) were also present, with
all parties acting on a court order issued by
Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor.
Controversy arose when it was revealed that
these products were derived from hemp.
Many products derived from hemp are legal
for purchase and use in all 50 states. The
subsequent press conference – held outside
closed vape shop Vapesboro – descended
into a farcical display and a perfect
demonstration of what critics of excess
vaping regulation have warned against.
A flustered, visibly agitated group of police
chiefs from the named departments took
questions from bewildered reporters.
Opening statements revealed that the initial
evidence gathering efforts were prompted
by concerns from local parents who worried
that CBD-laced sweets – which it’s claimed
24 | VM16
resembled gummy bears – were being marketed
to children.
An attempted justification of these raids came via
Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, who
described CBD as, “an illegal drug, a synthetic
drug,” which is “a derivative of marijuana.” The
police did not provide any evidence that children
were purchasing CBD products in any capacity.
The highlight came when an attending journalist
pointed out that none of the seized products
contained Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) countering
a claim from Smyrna chief Kevin Arnold that CBD
is, “used to get high,” and can’t be consumed
without a prescription.
When the reporter revealed that it is legal without
prescription and asked if they were going to
raid Walmart which also a stocks CBD next,
Arnold said “yes,” and that he had no idea if the
contraband contained THC.
This embarrassing misadventure did not go
unchallenged after the conference, prompting a
condemnatory response from numerous outlets,
including an email written by the President of
the Tennessee Hemp Industries Association,
Joe Kirkpatrick, who opened with the following
statement:
“Unless the Rutherford County Sh