Company challenges seizure of marijuana proceeds in Kansas

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Company challenges seizure of marijuana proceeds in Kansas

October 27, 2021

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A cash management company has asked a federal court to return nearly $166,000 in proceeds seized in Kansas from sales at Missouri medical marijuana stores.

Dickinson County sheriff’s deputies seized the money in May after stopping a driver for Empyreal Logistics as she was taking the proceeds to Colorado. Medical marijuana is legal in Missouri and Colorado, which also allows recreational use. Marijuana use is illegal in Kansas.

Federal prosecutors say the money is subject to forfeiture because it violates a federal law against manufacturing and distributing drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas filed a civil forfeiture action in federal court seeking to seize the money.

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A driver for Empyreal was stopped for a traffic violation in Dickinson County on May 17 on Interstate 70 near Abilene. The driver, who has not been charged, told the deputy she was going to Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up cash from medical marijuana dispensaries, according to court records.

While in Kansas City, the driver was watched by agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency as she entered several dispensaries, according to court records. On her way back to Denver, she was again stopped by a Dickinson County, Kansas, sheriff’s deputy for an unstated reason.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-health-colorado-marijuana-medical-marijuana-6d41f1053f142075b735464107e3b0d5