Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a Minnesota hemp farmer whose plants had elevated THC levels, saying that they had trouble locating witnesses because of delays in the case.
Fillmore County prosecutors filed felony possession charges against Luis Hummel in March 2019 after seizing his plants. They tested at 3% THC, 10 times higher than the THC limit for legal hemp, which is 0.3%.
The Duluth News Tribune reported prosecutors filed the notice of dismissing in December, saying that “essential witnesses will be unavailable to testify at trial.”
The case was set for trial in April 2020, but the pandemic forced several postponements.
Hummel told authorities that THC in his hemp products goes up when concentrated, according to the criminal complaint. Hummel allegedly said that he tries to make his hemp products seem like marijuana to “entice the buyer,” then he removes most of the THC.