Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2016
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Copyright: 2016 Journal Sentinel Inc.
Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/general/30627794.html
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265
Author: Jim Stingl

POLICE SEIZE OIL FROM VAPE SHOP

They Find Trace of Marijuana Ingredient

Janet Fazen and her family run a vape shop in West Allis, but a 
recent visit by police has left them feeling like dope dealers. 
Officers seized their entire inventory of CBD liquid, which is said 
to come from industrial hemp plants. "The original vape additive. Add 
to your favorite liquid or vape alone," the package says.

Customers who buy it have told Fazen that it gives some relief from 
pain, fibromyalgia, anxiety and other maladies. There is a trace of 
THC, the ingredient that gives weed its buzz, but not enough to make 
anyone high, she said. Minors are not allowed in the store without a parent.

"They (police) should return the product. And I should be able to 
freely sell," she said. "It kind of puts me on edge. I'm trying to 
have a little business here. They took mine, but it's all over the nation."

West Allis police say the CBD, or cannabidiol, is contraband and 
they're not giving it back. Deputy Chief Bob Fletcher said two 
officers went to the store, VaporLicious, 8822 W. Lincoln Ave., on 
May 20 and purchased one bottle of CBD Drip. When they tested it, 
they found evidence of THC, though Fletcher admits the screening does 
not indicate what level.

"The field tests that are used are an all-or-nothing thing. It's not 
like on a scale. It's either going to show, yes, it's there, or it 
isn't there," Fletcher said.

The Fazens - Janet, her husband John and their son Charlie - were not 
cited or charged with a crime. Fletcher said they were cooperative 
with the officers, who seized a dozen bottles of CBD Drip with a 
retail value of a couple hundred dollars.

"They didn't believe what they were selling was a controlled 
substance. I think they really thought it was legal. So the officers 
didn't make any arrests or anything like that," he said.

Officers went to the store to investigate a report of CBD being sold 
there. West Allis police have been in touch with the Milwaukee County 
district attorney's office for direction on how to handle other 
similar cases, Fletcher said.

Most of what VaporLicious sells are e-cigarette devices and the juice 
that goes with them. They added the CBD in three strengths a year 
ago, with prices ranging from about $15 to $50 a bottle. They were 
assured by the distributor, CBD Drip in Newport Beach, Calif., that 
the product is legal to sell.

That company's website lists 20 other stores in the Milwaukee area 
and throughout Wisconsin where you can buy it. The company did not 
return my call or respond to my email.

CBD oil made news in Wisconsin when parents of children with seizure 
disorders pushed to legalize it here. A law was passed in 2014, named 
for Lydia Schaeffer of Burlington, who died at age 7 before she could 
benefit from CBD's medicinal effects. But amendments to the law have 
made it largely useless.

Sally Schaeffer, Lydia's mother, said she is not sure what exactly 
the CBD Drip is or does, though it's not being promoted for children 
with seizures. The fine print on the package says it's "not validated 
by the FDA" and "not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any 
disease." Buyers are urged to consult a doctor before use.

Project CBD, a California-based nonprofit that promotes research into 
the medical use of CBD and other components of the marijuana plant, 
cautions that CBD products derived from industrial hemp are inferior 
to CBD-rich products from whole plant cannabis.

"Industrial hemp typically contains far less cannabidiol than 
CBD-rich cannabis strains, so a huge amount of industrial hemp is 
required to extract a small amount of CBD," the organization's 
website says, adding that this raises the risk of contaminants.

Because it's against federal law to use hemp leaves and flowers to 
make drug products, hemp oil entrepreneurs claim that using the hemp 
stalk instead and then importing their products into the U.S. allows 
them to sidestep this prohibition. It's a gray area under the law, 
Project CBD says.

Janet Fazen, who says she has a clean criminal record, told me she 
favors legalization of marijuana, medically and recreationally, in 
Wisconsin and nationwide, and that day appears to be coming sooner in 
some states and later in others.

"I lost a daughter when she was 17 to cancer. I lost my mother, my 
father. I recently lost my brother-in-law, all to cancer," she said. 
"It's not like this stuff is going to cure anything necessarily. But 
if it can help make their life a little bit better, then it should 
move forward."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom