Hemp Grower Sues DEA, Alleges Agents Destroyed $3.5M in product

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were among officers who illegally seized more than $3M worth of hemp from a California farm, according to a lawsuit filed by the cultivator. The case highlights the growing tension between the DEA – a longtime nemesis of cannabis legalization advocates – and the nascent hemp industry.

Wyoming-based Agro Dynamics had been legally cultivating hemp in San Diego County when, according to the lawsuit in federal court in California, law enforcement officers spotted the grow via helicopter in September 2019 and apparently mistook it for an illicit cannabis farm. After obtaining . . .