Police seized $30,000 of THC products during a raid in Georgia, now they have to give it back

MADISON COUNTY, Ga. — More raids on local stores for illegal drugs are being overturned.

Channel 2 Action News reported how a judge ruled police had to return CBD products taken from vape and convenient stores. Now, we’re hearing the same thing has happened in Madison County.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston learned when lawmakers wrote the law in 2019 to make hemp in Georgia it was too broad, and some counties are raiding stores for no reason.

Sahil Kumar was raided by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies removed all CBD delta-8 products from Kumar’s Danielsville grocery in November. Officers said delta-8 is illegal because it contains THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes you high.

“I had money in my register. He took cash out of my register, and my cousin was there, and he had cash in his pocket. For two days, I couldn’t sleep, because I’m thinking in my mind, ‘We’ve done something wrong, we’re going to go to jail for breaking the law,” Kumar said.

He hired attorney Devin Rafus, who proved not only was the $30,000 in products legal, but that deputies didn’t understand Georgia’s hemp law. All the money and product seized had to be returned to Kumar.

TRENDING STORIES:

• DeKalb police investigate deadly double shooting at Tucker hotel
• Man arrested after viral attack of Southwest Airlines gate agent at Atlanta airport
• Georgia tax refund: What to know about extra state income tax refund, how much you’ll get

“Because the label has THC on it, law enforcement or the prosecutor’s office thinks it must be illegal because we all think it’s delta-9, which is illegal,” Rafus said.

Delta-8 and delta-10 products have less than 0.3% THC, which is not against the law in Georgia.

Channel 2 showed you a raid in Gwinnett County where dozens of officers stormed a shop because they sold delta-8 products. A judge ruled store owners like Kumar had not broken the law by selling delta-8 products.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Rafus said there’s a simple way to fix this problem.

“All they have to do is have a Georgia legislator write into law that delta-8 is illegal, until that time, it can be sold, it can be used by individuals in Georgia,” he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

People across Newnan mark 1 year since destructive tornado Saturday marks the 1 year anniversary of the storms.

©2022 Cox Media Group