Brooklyn prosecutors are expected to drop felony marijuana charges against a man who was arrested because of a shipment of Vermont-grown hemp.
Ronen Levy was arrested by police early this month when he was receiving a shipment of hemp from a Vermont farm for his brother, Oren Levy, who runs Green Angel, a Brooklyn-based business that makes cannabidiol, or CBD products.
New York City police intercepted the 106 pounds of hemp from Vermont’s Fox Holler Farms, believing it to be marijuana, and boasted about the bust on social media.
While members of the cannabis family are similar in appearance, the legality hinges on the content of the psychoactive compound THC.
Oren Levy said Saturday that police need to be better educated about hemp.
“There’s a lot of regulations out there, and I think law enforcement has to actually learn these regulations and has to learn the law so other people don’t have to go through what we went through,” he said.
The shipment included documentation verifying that the hemp contained 0.06% THC, and the farmer had the hemp verified by police in Williston before sending it by FedEx.
Oren Levy said the arrest has had a major impact on his brother and his business.
Ronen Levy, who is not involved with the cannabis industry, was “traumatized” by the arrest, according to his brother. He was only involved with receiving the hemp shipment because Oren Levy had recently undergone surgery.
NBC4 New York reported on prosecutor’s plans to drop the charges after a court hearing Tuesday.
Oren Yaniv, spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, said Monday morning charges had not been dismissed quite yet.
“The prosecutor said on the last court date that we plan to dismiss them and just have to take a few more steps prior to that,” he said in an email.
The next hearing in the case is set for Dec. 2. Oren Levy said the charges against his brother are expected to be dismissed then.
Oren Levy is also still waiting for more information about whether he’ll be able to retrieve his hemp shipment, which he said Saturday remains in police possession.
“I’m praying, because it’s my life savings,” he said.
The sale price of the shipment was $17,500. Levy said he expected it could be worth about $50,000 once processed.
In the meantime, he said, Green Angel has struggled amid the publicity around his brother’s arrest. Suppliers have cut him off, fearful of the hassle of working with him, he said, and he believes customers are “scared” to buy from him.
“It’s crippled my business,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a response from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office at 11:16 a.m. on Nov. 25.
