LANCASTER, Pa. — A local business owner is suing Lancaster County law enforcement officials over claims that they searched one of his stores without a warrant and seized legal hemp-derived THC products.
District Attorney Heather Adams, a lieutenant with the Lancaster County Drug Task Force (LCDTF), three unnamed members of the LCDTF and Lancaster County itself are listed as defendants in the filing.
The suit alleges that Adams ordered the LCDTF to carry out searches of smoke/vape stores and subsequently seize certain products containing various chemical compounds derived from hemp; namely, products containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), delta-9 THC, delta-10 THC and delta-11 THC.
THC (specifically delta-9) is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Delta-9 is classified as legal industrial hemp under 3 Pa. C.S.A. § 702 as long as it has a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis.
According to the lawsuit, four members of the LCDTF entered the Smooth Vape located in Willow Street and produced a memo—not a search warrant—from Adams declaring that the detectives would be seizing "all products in plain view labeled or advertised as containing Delta-8 THC or Delta-10 THC."
Employees of the store claim that the officers gave them the option to either surrender to the search and seizure or have their store shut down. The owner chose to cooperate with the LCDTF rather than lose the revenue from having to close the store.
The Lancaster County Drug Task Forced in June announced a crackdown on shops selling Delta-8 and Delta-10, cannabinoids that are widely available, but illegal under some interpretations of state and federal law.
The crackdown involved seizing nearly $300,000 worth of product from 25 stores throughout Lancaster County.
The lawsuit claims that hemp-derived THC products such as Delta-8 are legal under Pennsylvania and federal law, and that law enforcement violated the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments for “unreasonable search and seizure.”
“These products are expressly recognized as legal under Pennsylvania law. For years these products have been sold openly,” said Jerad Najvar, an attorney representing Smooth Vape. “This came as a complete surprise to my client and I imagine to everybody else in the county that was raided.”
The lawsuit states that employees at the business asked the detectives for clarification on why the items were being seized now when they had been sold openly—and allegedly, legally—for years, but they did not receive an answer other than referring back to the memo.
Legal experts said THC derived from cannabis falls into a legal gray category in Pennsylvania.
State law classifies Delta-8 and Delta-10 as Schedule 1 controlled substances. On the federal level, the DEA also classified Delta 8 as a controlled substance in February 2023.
The federal Farm Bill of 2018, meanwhile, legalized hemp and hemp-derived products.
However many of the hemp-derived THC products contain THC at levels far higher than are naturally found in hemp. In order to make these products, some THC has to be synthetically derived.
“Synthetically derived THC is a controlled substance, so that’s the argument against it,” said Joshua Horn, an attorney with Fox Rothschild and co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Cannabis Committee.
Attorneys said the outcome of the lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences.
“A lot of the stores that operate in Pennsylvania also operate in other states, so the impact on some of these stores across state lines could occur if we have parties that for instance, would join this lawsuit,” said Justin Moriconi, an attorney with Moriconi Flowers and co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Cannabis Committee.
The business owner claims in the lawsuit that no Delta-8, -10 or -11 products from his other three stores outside of Lancaster County have been seized and the other store locations continue to sell these products with no interference from law enforcement. Further, the owner says that thieves stole some Delta-8 products from one of his stores in Dauphin County, and he reported the theft to police "without incident or any suggestion that the stolen products were illegal."
In all, the LCDTF seized tens of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise from the store, resulting in a hefty loss for the business owner, the suit says. The store has lost significant additional profits due to not being able to sell these products in its Willow Street store, where the owner claims the Delta products had previously accounted for more than $15,000 in sales each month.
If the court finds that the LCDTF's search and seizure was illegal, Smooth Vape LLC is asking for the following damages:
- An award of compensatory damages for the violation(s) of Plaintiffs constitutional rights;
- An award of punitive damages for the violation(s) of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights;
- A declaratory judgment that products derived from Cannabis sativa L. that contain no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, including products without any delta-9 THC, are not subject to enforcement under the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance Act;
- Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 or any other applicable statute or authority; and
- Any other relief that the Court deems just and appropriate.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment.