Half Hill Farm is now restocking our CBD hemp oil products following clarity provided  by Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor (TN Judicial District 16). The judge acknowledged in his order of injunctive relief that hemp-derived CBD products are legal under state law. Half Hill Farm removed CBD products with an abundance of caution until we could understand whether the court intended to uphold or challenge state law.

Yesterday, Judge Taylor provided injunctive relief to business owners arrested in Operation Candy Crush ordering the return of keys and cash registers seized in raids. He also placed the burden of proof on District Attorney Jennings Jones to prove the store owners knowingly sold “marijuana,” as the indictments claim.

Judge Taylor, citing Tennessee Public Chapter 369, said the state must prove that the CBD products sold by those arrested and seized by law enforcement came from marijuana and not industrial hemp which is legal in Tennessee.

The 2017 law passed unanimously by the legislature defines industrial hemp as including “any industrial hemp-derived products that do not contain more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a topical or indigestible consumer product” (TCA 43-26-102(4)(B)). Industrial hemp also includes viable and non-viable plant, plant parts, or whole plant extracts with the same THC limits and additional restrictions if the source is growers and processors licensed by the state (TCA 43-26-102(4)(A)).

State law also explicitly removes industrial hemp (non-viable industrial hemp OR products made from non-viable industrial hemp from a licensed grower or processor) from state marijuana criminal codes (TCA 39-17-415). Despite some irresponsible television and print reports citing poorly written press releases, it is legal for consumers to purchase, consume and possess industrial hemp products without a prescription.

Half Hill Farm was part of the state hemp pilot program. We wanted to create extracts but could not plant the seed we wanted or sell the product to consumers. Recent changes in state law and Department of Agriculture rules fixed both those problems (allowing high CBD variety seed and legalizing any industrial hemp derived products) and created a market for legal, safe industrial hemp products. The legal distinction in state law between marijuana and industrial hemp creates a market for state grower and processor hemp products and for retailers to offer those products with competitive choices. Without these protections the state’s hemp pilot program would likely fail.

Here is a picture of the 2017 law beside a picture of our product’s certificate of analysis. You can view these documents in our stores.

You can purchase our CBD Hemp Oil products at our store in Woodbury (Half Hill Farm – 1424 John Bragg HWY Woodbury, TN 37190) and in Bell Buckle (Wellness Emporium – 13 Webb Rd E Bell Buckle, TN 37020). You can also view full lab reports for each purchase.

UPDATE 02-28-18: District Attorney Jennings Jones has dropped all charges against store owners. If you are a district attorney in Tennessee and have law enforcement or politicians coming to you with this issue, take note and don’t make costly mistakes like this.

• Charges Dropped Against Stores Raided In ‘Operation Candy Crush’
• ‘Operation Candy Crush’: TBI reports not ‘properly written,’ DA said
• ‘Operation Candy Crush’ becomes campaign issue for Rutherford County sheriff candidates
• Store owner angry, considering legal action

Also Read:

• Half Hill Farm’s full spectrum extract CBD hemp oil
• Made in Tennessee: CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil