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A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 18 deceMber 2017

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Business owner, Idaho town clash over pot extract’s legality

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI sample to Garden City Larsen declined to discuss
Associated Press police for testing. The city his situation when contact-
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A also wants Larsen to pres- ed by the AP, except to
small-business owner with ent an affidavit from an say he didn’t want a story
high hopes of selling oil expert promising Larsen’s published for fear it would
extracted from cannabis products are legal to sell in further complicate matters.
plants in staunchly anti- Idaho. “I didn’t ask for any of this,”
marijuana Idaho has found Larsen’s lawyer notes simi- he said. “We just wanted
himself lost in the weeds lar products containing to open a store that would
with local officials who say CBD oil already are being help people.”
such products might be il- sold in the state, and says CBD has a contentious his-
legal in the state. the requests being made tory in Idaho. The Republi-
Michael Larsen applied of his client are unwarrant- can-dominated state has
for a building permit in ed. remained steadfast in its
February with the goal of In a phone interview Thurs- strict anti-marijuana laws
transforming a commer- day, Boise-based attorney despite bordering three
cial space in the tiny com- Joe Filicetti pointed to a states — Washington, Or-
munity of Garden City — a CBD oil store that opened egon and Nevada — that
municipality surrounded by In this Nov. 6, 2017, file photo, a syringe loaded with a dose in Sandpoint, about eight have legalized recreation-
Boise, Idaho’s largest city of CBD oil is shown in a research laboratory at Colorado State hours north of Garden City, al pot.
— into a retail store called University in Fort Collins, Colo. in 2016. He said Sandpoint Idaho lawmakers passed
Welcomed Science that Associated Press officials have welcomed legislation in 2015 that
would sell dietary supple- cating component in mari- low for some type of medi- the business, which sells would have allowed chil-
ments. juana. cal use of marijuana. CBD vapor and tinctures. dren with severe forms of
Those plans came to a halt, CBDs come from canna- Idaho lawmakers, mean- In a June email obtained epilepsy to use CBD oil.
however, when city attor- bis but contain little or no while, passed a resolution in the AP’s records request, That bill was vetoed by Re-
ney Charles Wadams de- THC. Supporters tout CBDs in 2013 vowing the State- Filicetti told Larsen’s vendor publican Gov. C.L. “Butch”
nied the application in May as a supplement that can house would never legalize that local authorities were Otter, who received pres-
on the basis that cannabi- help alleviate pain, reduce marijuana for any purpose. “absolutely ridiculous” in sure from law enforcement
diol, otherwise known as stress and improve skin According to public re- their understanding of CBD, groups that feared it would
CBD oil, is illegal in Idaho. health, although there’s cords obtained by The As- and said Wadams was get- lead to further loosening of
That’s because a 2015 state little data on whether they sociated Press, Garden ting advice from “every the state’s drug laws.
attorney general’s opinion work or what kind of side ef- City’s decision to deny law enforcement entity in Advocates have since
stated that oils extracted fects they might have.Cur- Larsen’s permit has resulted the state” on how to block promised to renew the CBD
from cannabis plants are rently, 18 states allow use of in a monthslong back-and- Larsen’s business. oil legalization fight during
considered a controlled “low THC, high cannabidiol forth on whether his prod- Wadams denied that. the 2018 session.q
substance. However, the (CBD)” products for medi- ucts contain THC. “The city’s position is based
opinion included a key ex- cal reasons in limited situa- Larsen maintains they do on its own independent
emption: Such products tions or as a legal defense, not. conclusion that before is-
can be considered legal according to the National Wadams says the city is suing a building permit, it is
in Idaho — as long as they Conference of State Legis- waiting on Larsen’s vendor obligated to verify that the
contain no THC, the intoxi- latures. Nearly 30 states al- to provide an independent CBD oil products in ques-
tion are legal,” Wadams
said.