California Highway Patrol Confiscated $250,000 From Licensed Cannabis Transporters

Two owners of a cannabis transport company are suing the California Highway Patrol (CHP) following the arrest of two delivery drivers and confiscation of $257,000 in cash in late 2018, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In September, California-licensed cannabis business owners Rick Barry and Brian Clemann — who happen to be former CHP officers themselves — were arrested during a traffic stop. While the men were released within hours, the CHP confiscated the $257,000 in cash the men were carrying after having delivered a shipment of cannabis oil. Neither person were charged with a crime. Barry and Clemann both say they had their state cannabis distribution license on them when they were arrested.

Barry and Clemann are now suing the CHP. They’re hoping a judge will issue a directive to state enforcement agencies to stop interfering in the state-legal cannabis industry, as well as provide financial restitution. Just last week, California regulators made it clear that deliveries are legal statewide, even to areas that have prohibited cannabis sales or have not instituted rules at all.

Seizures by the CHP have not gone down since adult-use cannabis was legalized in California. In fact, the amount of cannabis seized in 2018 was double what was seized in 2017.

The issue will now be decided in the San Francisco Superior Court. According to Barry and Clemann’s attorney, “the fundamental issue here is whether the CHP is going to follow the will of the voters of California and the Legislature and stop cooperating with federal authorities in the ongoing federally instigated war on cannabis.”