Company sues over Idaho seizure of product it says is hemp

BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A company has filed a lawsuit against the Idaho State Police and Ada County after authorities seized nearly 7,000 pounds of cannabis from a truck headed to Colorado.

The Idaho Statesman reported Friday that authorities say the product seized was marijuana but Big Sky Scientific LLC says it is industrial hemp.

Hemp is a non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana and is protected under the recently passed 2018 Farm Bill.

The Idaho State Police has sent a sample of the product to a lab for testing.

The truck’s driver, 36-year-old Dennis Palamarchuk of Portland, has been charged with a felony.

Palamarchuk told authorities he was on his way to Colorado with the shipment.

Big Sky wants its product returned and wants an admission of wrongdoing from the Idaho authorities.