CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Police in Chillicothe have raided a popular “marijuana” shop on Western Avenue.
The raid happened on Friday, according to the Chillicothe Police Department at “Western Avenue Exotics.” According to a media release from police, “In response to complaints received in August regarding the illegal sale of marijuana, the Chillicothe Police Department (CPD) initiated an investigation into Western Ave Exotics,” a statement read.
What led to the raid?
The business publicly proclaims to be operating under the 2018 Farm Bill, which allows the general public and businesses to sell hemp and CBD product, which do not contain a high level of THC — THC is the component of the marijuana that makes one get a “high.”
“The investigation revealed that the business was selling products containing high levels of THC, confirming the items were marijuana and not legally classified ‘hemp products.’ Under Ohio law, the sale of marijuana is strictly regulated, and only licensed dispensaries, authorized through the Ohio Department of Commerce, may legally sell marijuana. Western Ave. Exotics does not hold a dispensary license,” said Captain Michael Short with CPD.
There is an effort on the state level to shutdown CBD stores while licensed recreational dispensaries lobby elected officials claiming the products are “harmful” despite the product being allowed to contain 0.03% THC.
Western Avenue Exotics has long been a controversial business in Chillicothe. They had opened their doors just a few months ago and placed very colorful artwork showing — what looks like marijuana buds, or better known as “flower” on their windows facing the street. Once one walks into the business, there are labels on products saying that the location operates legally under the Farm Bill, which was signed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018. Despite this claim, the police department’s public informations officer said that recent controversies around the store yielded results that the product being sold by Western Avenue was illegal and “too strong” for the business to be selling. In other words, the store was allowed to sell what is known as “diet weed” and not recreational marijuana.
Hundreds of patrons of the business have flocked to recent city council meetings in Chillicothe to dispute a pending piece of legislation that would prevent licensed marijuana shops from opening in the city limits. After severe public backlash, including the hundreds of people attending council meetings — almost all speaking in favor of Western Avenue’s shop, which does not fall under the proposed ban if they are operating legally as a hemp or CBD shop — council tabled the measure. The measure was brought forth by the city law director, according to public records, and no member of city council asked for the law to be drawn up.
On Monday, council members voted to toss the measure from their agenda.
Independent lab results back up police claims
The Guardian was in the middle of conducting our own investigation into the store’s product to see if it was compliant with state law. Last week, we sent off several samples of the business’ product to a certified independent testing lab in California. Results from the scientists at the lab yielded that the product that was sent contained five times the legal limit allowed to be sold under The Farm Bill. The Guardian chose not to publicly share this information with anyone, including law enforcement as we do not intervene with private businesses after electors in Ohio voted to pass recreational marijuana last year, with the City of Chillicothe overwhelmingly voting in the affirmative.
Unfortunately, for Western Avenue’s location, the state controls who can legally have a license to sell the more potent marijuana, and right now, Ohio is not handing out any new licenses. Only one place in Chillicothe is authorized by the state and that store is located on Bridge Street. Despite the voters voicing their opinion and then, the state government meddling in the licensing process by awarding licenses to loyalists or extremely wealthy companies through a supposed-lottery, police said that does not give places like Western Avenue the right to allegedly circumvent the licensing procedure.
A spokesperson for the company said on Friday, “the shop only sells federally compliant THC-A products. We do not sell anything marijuana related. We have multiple letters of opinion from multiple lawyers we will be presenting. Our product is sent to us through USPS and UPS, and we have letters showing that this product is legal.”
The spokesman went on to say that everything is above the law.
“We were told by the officers on the scene that the state was overseeing this investigation, but the state has no jurisdiction to conduct this raid. The state has the ability to create new laws, but as of now, there are none on the books. The measure that was pending in the state house has stalled [….] so the fact that a Republican State Senator is trying to control what we do against the law President Donald J. Trump signed into law, should say something […] we are buying product from licensed CBD vendors and we have certificates of authenticity that say we are legal. You, yourself, can buy from our vendor. They are public and ship through the USPS and UPS. All of this is above board on our end.”
Numerous patrons of Western Avenue took to social media and contacted the Guardian with angry tones and irate expressions stating that police and the state need to “back off” because voters have had their say, “or else, we might just see recall elections happening.”
Despite the raid, the spokesperson said Western Avenue Exotics would be open again on Saturday, and that if anything legally comes of what happened on Friday, they are prepared to fight it all the way, because in his words, “we are not doing anything illegal. Our product is literally handed to us by federal workers and the letters of authenticity are addressed to the USPS and UPS, as well as to us by the vendor where we purchase our product.”