The criminal cases wrongly accusing stores of selling illegal CBD gummies have been dropped. However, civil lawsuits are in the works and the blame game is escalating among law enforcement.
It seems the controversy over CBD Gummies made from cannabis is far from over. All criminal charges are gone against 23 Rutherford County stores busted last month.
Now those store owners are meeting to discuss suing for what happened.
Thousands in cash, along with CBD products, have now been returned to stores which had been padlocked. All charges were expunged. Still, the damage was done.
"All these store owners were arrested. They had to post bond. They had their stores closed for 5 or 6 days and lost income and credibility in the community. Those damages are great," said attorney Jim Todd, who represents one of the store owners.
Now NewsChannel 5 has learned stores owners have met this week to discuss civil lawsuits. But who do they sue first?
Yes, the police and sheriff's deputies raided the stores, but they acted only after lab tests from the TBI listed the confiscated CBD gummies as schedule six controlled substances.
That, however, could not be proven in court. Someone messed up.
"We were hopeful the TBI and District Attorney would communicate better and realize this substance is not illegal," said Todd.
CBD products made from hemp in Tennessee are legal.
The TBI and D.A. are blaming each other and it looks like both will likely be sued.
There's an emerging issue to all this -- selective enforcement. Did authorities only target and padlock small business -- bypassing larger ones selling CBD products? That is something attorneys will investigate.
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