Madison County Sheriff’s Department faces $3.9 million lawsuit

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local sheriff’s department is facing a hefty federal lawsuit following the seizure of legal hemp product during a traffic stop.

Litson PLLC, based out of Nashville, says it is suing the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for $3.9 million for illegally seizing and destroying legal hemp, constitution violations, law enforcement failure and overall impact on the hemp company California Gold Farm.

“This most frustrating part of this for my client is that everyone involved from shipping these products was doing everything right. You know? California Gold Farm is a licensed hemp grower. The driver was a licensed transporter. The thousand pounds of hemp that that had been properly tested, documented, stored, sealed and shipped,” said Attorney Zack Lawson.

The charges against the driver of the company were dismissed.

“Hemp is legal federally and it’s legal in all the states. This product was passing through what’s legal to pass through those states and it’s legal in Tennessee to sell or consume. It’s obviously very popular in Tennessee. This is not some obscurity that you know law enforcement doesn’t know about generally,” said Lawson.

According to Lawson, they were able to see transcripts pertaining to what exactly transpired at the traffic stop.

“They had a bill of lading showing where the product came from and where it was going. All signs pointed to this being a legitimate commercial shipment, which it was. They even had lab results showing that it was a legal hemp shipment taped to each box,” said Lawson.

According to the Litson Law Firm, California Gold Farm is a large legitimate hemp grower based in California and has shipped products across the country for years without incident.

“What we’re seeing is a concerning pattern across the state of Tennessee where legitimate hemp businesses, that are operating fully within state and federal law, have their product seized and destroyed by law enforcement that aren’t properly trained to handle these sorts of cases,” said Lawson.

California Gold Farm lost nearly $4 million of product and they are aiming for full compensation.

We reached out the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for comment but we have yet to hear back. Continue to follow us on-air and online as more details become available.

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