Suspected Marijuana plants seized but company partner says seizure was unlawful
The law remains murky over how those interested in growing marijuana can get their hands on a plant.
A company in Faribault faced this first-hand. Their plants were seized.
Matt Little, a partner for Midwest Extraction Services, expressed his frustration.
“What statute?” he asked. “Please list the statute. Please list the law that I broke. It was, ‘you don’t have a license.’ I go ‘well, there’s no license available right now.’ The board hasn’t even been formed. There’s nothing in the language of law that tells you how that home grower is going to get his plant.”
According to a release from the Faribault Police Department, “officers responded to several citizen complaints that were received regarding a local business selling marijuana plants during a parking lot tent sale.”
The plants were labeled by strain, and in some instances, by THC concentration exceeding the percentage allowed for legally grown industrial hemp.
Little says the plants were labeled for what they will produce, not their current value.
“You know, when you buy a tomato plant, there’s a tag on it and it tells you what it’s going to grow,” explained Little. “It’s going to grow a green tomato, red tomato, cherry tomato. You know, [a] seven-millimeter tomato.”
Little believes cities need to have a conversation about how to fill this consumer need.
In Mankato, we had a great relationship with their law enforcement, and it became a successful event; no issue,” said Little. “There’s no law saying how to get them, so we’re filling that gap so people could get the right plants and understand what they’re buying and understand what they’re growing.”
The Faribault Police Department had this to say;
“The Faribault Police Department is committed to supporting businesses engaged in the legal sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products once the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is established. Until that time, unauthorized sales of cannabis will be investigated in accordance with state law.”
Little does not expect his plants to return alive.
Little values the 22 plants at over $2,000.
