Politics
Veterans Group Condemns Missouri Officials For ‘Raiding’ VFW Post Over Cannabis On 9/11, But Agency Pushes Back On Criticism
A local Missouri veterans organization is condemning state regulators, claiming they “raided” their post on the morning of September 11 to search for unapproved cannabis beverages “immediately after lowering our flag to half-staff” to honor those lost in the terrorist attack and resulting war.
However, the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) that carried out the unscheduled inspection of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2661 on Wednesday, told Marijuana Moment that they feel the group’s characterization of the action as a raid is “inaccurate and misleading.”
The inspection comes amid state’s crackdown on “adulterated” cannabis drinks. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the local VFW chapter said the drinks they sell are all in compliance with state and federal laws, and they’re only sold to adults 21 and older. To that point, a DHSS spokesperson confirmed that “zero product was embargoed or destroyed,” as two investigators found that “the VFW Post did not pose an immediate cause for concern, specifically in regard to Missouri children.”
VFW didn’t claim products were seized, but it emphasized that members felt it improper for regulators to take the steps they did on an especially sensitive day for military veterans.
“While we normally appreciate visitors to our beautiful Post home, we are not sure that raiding a Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on September 11th immediately after lowering our flag to half-staff in remembrance of the thousands of lives taken from us 23 years ago today and for the 50,000 + Service Members and [Department of Defense] Civilians that have lost their lives fighting in the wars that stemmed from that horrible day was the best or most respectful time to do it,” the group said.
“We also are curious how raiding a VFW canteen for these products achieves the Governor’s ‘goal’ of protecting children,” they said.
DHSS told Marijuana Moment the visit to the post on Wednesday “was solely based on a complaint DHSS received on Sept. 5 regarding this establishment’s products,” and inspectors “simply provided education about the executive order and the state and federal laws surrounding food code and approved sources of foods.”
This comes amid a concerted push from Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) to ban hemp-derived THC edibles in the state. However, an executive order from August to implement that ban has prompted a lawsuit from industry stakeholders and a back-and-forth with the secretary of state about procedural issues with the order.
Last month, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) rejected the emergency regulations to ban the intoxicating hemp products—rules that were supposed to take effect on September 1. However, the official’s rejection of the regulations didn’t stop DHSS from carrying out about 60 “inspections” of businesses selling hemp products this month.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R), meanwhile, recently created a special unit to aid in the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control’s hemp enforcement activity.
Separately, a Missouri appeals court ruled last month that the state must expunge convictions for THC possession, just as it has for marijuana possession cases under the voter-approved legalization law.
It’s unclear how many additional convictions for THC possession are eligible for expungement with this decision. Last December, Missouri officials announced they’d expunged more than 120,000 marijuana cases from court records during the first year of legalization. But some courts have missed the deadline for felony expungements as clerks work to review decades of old cases.
It was also reported in June that Missouri courts have only spent about 10 percent of the $7 million that were appropriated to fund the record-clearing process for cannabis.
Meanwhile, in July state officials transferred nearly $11 million in revenue from adult-use marijuana sales, routing the money toward veterans healthcare, legal assistance for low-income people and drug treatment and recovery services.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
