Idaho

An Idaho judge has ruled that Colorado company Big Sky Scientific must forfeit its 6,701-pound hemp shipment that was seized by Idaho State Police last year.

A bill to legalize industrial hemp is set for a hearing in the Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee; farmers would be able to begin growing hemp under the proposal this year if the bill is signed into law.

An official report has suggested that cannabis sales are 420 percent higher along the state border with Idaho, where cannabis remains illegal.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order to allow interstate hemp transport through Idaho.

Big Sky Scientific, whose 6,700-pound shipment of industrial hemp was confiscated in January by Idaho State Police, says it will drop its lawsuit if the impounded hemp shipment is returned. It’s not known whether the hemp would still be usable.

Multiple interstate hemp shipments have been seized by Idaho police — at least one shipment has been returned but, in another incident, a trucker still faces a potential five-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

Idaho advocates are gearing up to push a medical cannabis ballot initiative to voters during next year’s general election.

Idaho law enforcement says it will continue arresting long-haul truck drivers who ferry industrial hemp through the state and confiscating their cargo, despite hemp’s federal legalization and a USDA memo that clarifies interstate hemp transport is legal.

A hemp bill has passed unanimously from the Idaho state House of Representatives to the Senate; lawmakers are anxious for a change in the face of hemp’s recent federal legalization.

The Idaho State Police seized a shipment of legal hemp in transit between Oregon and Colorado and jailed the driver, despite the fact that the cargo is federally legal and is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Some resistance is expected but cannabis advocates believe that, given the option, voters will choose to legalize.