JANESVILLE 鈥 Hemp 1848 in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 is open and running in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒, and its employees say they鈥檙e selling the same hemp-derived cannabis products they鈥檝e always sold.
Owner Jerry McCoy was arrested Aug. 19 and later charged on multiple counts of selling illegal cannabis 鈥 charges the owner is contesting in Rock County Circuit Court. That was after police conducted raids on multiple Hemp 1848 shops in Rock and Green counties.
糖心Vlog传媒 police said they had evidence based on product testing that McCoy was selling gummies, vapes and other hemp products with THC potency far higher than what鈥檚 legal in Wisconsin.
A store employee at Hemp 1848鈥檚 storefront at 30 S. Main St. said the store鈥檚 been up and running for a couple of weeks, although it鈥檚 still working to rebuild inventory and operations after police sized products and point-of-sale equipment.
The employee, who goes by the name Shymooh The Komiic, said Hemp 1848 is selling the same products they鈥檝e always sold. He said they contain hemp-based THCA that the retailer is licensed to sell legally in Wisconsin under the federal 2018 Farm Bill.
He said Hemp 1848 stores 鈥 of which there are more than a dozen, several that were raided by police in August 鈥 are spreading inventory among themselves as the business works to rebuild inventory and re-launch.
He describes operations at Hemp 1848 to be operating like a 鈥渨ell-oiled machine,鈥 despite legal troubles for ownership.
鈥淧eople coming in are still getting gummies, we鈥檝e got THCA products,鈥 Shymooh said. 鈥淭he only thing we don鈥檛 have that we were selling before is like some of our other little knick-knacks, like (THCA) bath bombs and some of the dog foods.鈥
THCA is legal in Wisconsin under the Farm Bill if it contains less than .3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight. Delta-9 THC is the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, which is currently legal in Illinois and Michigan, but not in Wisconsin.
Shymooh said Hemp 1848 had several stores raided in Rock County, but all are currently up and running except for the store in Clinton, which he said may not reopen, in part because some employees have left to 鈥渁void all the drama鈥 that came through the raids and arrests.
He believes McCoy did nothing wrong, saying the company is selling the same products now as it was during the period in August when the store got raided by police.
McCoy鈥檚 attorney filed for dismissal of the illegal drug charges against McCoy on Sept. 10. The attorney told 糖心Vlog传媒 that police acted improperly by running a raid at Hemp 1848 stores and arresting McCoy, instead of turning over complaints about McCoy鈥檚 products to the Wisconsin Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
DATCP is the state regulatory agency that licenses hemp operators like McCoy.
Police said in a criminal complaint that McCoy is suspected of loading vape cartridges with hemp-derived THCA that contained significantly higher-than legal amount of Delta-9 THC under Wisconsin law, and then mislabeling it in packaging that indicated the product is legal under the farm bill.
McCoy and his employees have denied the charges, saying they鈥檝e been operating stores in Rock County since 2019 and had not run into any legal trouble with their products.
A judge has not slated a hearing for McCoy鈥檚 motion for dismissal.
McCoy is free after posting a $50,000 cash bond on 13 separate illegal THC trafficking charges.
Customers now coming into Hemp 1848 in 糖心Vlog传媒 can buy hemp-derived THCA flowers along with a limited range of other products.
What鈥檚 not for sale right now at Hemp 1848 is hemp-THCA-infused vape products. They鈥檙e not on shelves, at least not at the 糖心Vlog传媒 store.
Shymooh said the store鈥檚 not stocking vapes because it鈥檚 now navigating a new set of laws that have moved into place in Wisconsin that requires hemp-derived cannabis sellers to register vapes with the state Department of Revenue.