Tyler police send letter to businesses known to sell CBD products

With the number of stores selling CBD oil, you might think the substance is legal in Texas. You would be wrong.

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - With the number of stores selling CBD oil, you might think the substance is legal in Texas. You would be wrong.

Tyler police are reminding businesses that marijuana is still illegal in the state of Texas. Possessing CBD oil is legal only for a small number of Texans with epilepsy.

“The Tyler police department continues to investigate complaints on the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) in the city of Tyler.”

A letter, written by Tyler police, was sent to several Tyler businesses, advertising CBD products for sale.

“They’re thinking that they can do it and whatever they are doing is legal until we actually tell them, hey what you’re doing is illegal,” Tyler Police Department Officer Don Martin says.

CBD is an oil derived from a hemp plant, and whether it is illegal or not can be confusing.

“If there is less than .03% THC, than the CBD oils are okay, but that federal law does not apply to the state of Texas. In Texas any amount of THC in a product is going to be considered illegal,” CBD Texas Attorney Sam Adomo says.

It is legal in Texas only when obtained by prescription for treating epilepsy.

But it is being marketed openly in stores such as ‘Your CBD Store’, in Tyler.

“Our products are from industrial hemp, and we use a CO-2 extraction instead of a water extraction and so its left with all the healing benefits and we extract all of the THC,” Your CBD Store owner, Kelly Trang says.

So, what makes these local CBD shops so sure that there isn’t any THC in their product if it’s not regulated by the state?

“The DEA has said, they feel that is impossible for there not to be any THC in these products,” Adomo says.

In Texas, you could be charged with a felony for possession of a controlled substance which can carry a range of punishment from 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison.

“We’re doing the retailers a favor by saying hey, we see an issue with this, and its best that you don’t sell this product unless you 100 percent know that there is no THC in it,” Officer Martin says.

Since the CBD oil is not being sold under a prescription, it is not regulated. That means there’s no guarantee of what is, or what is not, in the oil.

Copyright 2019 KLTV. All rights reserved.