16,350 Idahoans and counting have signed petition requesting prosecutor to drop all charges
By Eric Valentine
An effort to free the three men charged with transporting hemp across state lines got a boost last week, thanks to state representatives Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) and Dorothy Moon (R-Stanley) who formally presented online petition signatures to Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, asking her to drop the drug trafficking charges fully and immediately.
“You are the only player in our legal system who has the power to fix the situation and ensure (the truck drivers) can go on with their lives without a criminal record from these events,” the petition implored Bennetts. “We do not want our tax dollars spent prosecuting or incarcerating these individuals … It is cruel to upend these men’s lives in the current manner and, frankly, it is an embarrassment to the State of Idaho.”
The hemp that was transported had THC levels below 0.3 percent, but it didn’t matter because the State of Idaho draws no distinction between hemp and marijuana. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
On May 21, Representatives Rubel and Moon held a press conference in front of the Ada County Courthouse that was covered by television media and broadcast live on social media. Rubel and Moon say there are two major flaws in Idaho’s laws that have led to this situation:
Idaho draws no distinction between hemp and marijuana.
Idaho allows judges no discretion to set an appropriate sentence where “drug trafficking” is concerned, but instead imposes mandatory minimum sentences
“We are legislators representing different parties, but we agree on the basic principle that your tax dollars should never be used to perpetrate injustice. We are on the brink of such injustice should these drivers be imprisoned or saddled with criminal records hampering future employment and disqualifying them from commercial drivers’ licenses,” a joint statement from the representatives stated.
In response, Bennetts and Idaho State Police Director Colonel Kedrick Wills issued the following statement:
“The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office is prohibited from negotiating the resolution of cases through the media, or with others who do not legally represent the parties. The case investigated and submitted to our office, by the Boise Police Department, following the arrests of two defendants, occurred over a year ago and prior to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. These two defendants are out of custody, represented by counsel and pending sentencing on reduced charges. The case investigated by the Idaho State Police in January 2019 is pending and our ability to comment is limited. The defendant is out of custody and represented by counsel.
“The 2018 Farm Bill’s intent of allowing the interstate transportation of hemp will only be realized once there is a regulatory system in place. As of this date, that system has not been developed in any state—including Idaho—and is therefore not currently in effect. As a consequence, hemp is not legal in Idaho.
“We understand the desire to provide a legal pathway for an alternative crop for Idaho’s farmers and for those who transport it across state lines. We are currently conducting research and working to develop a solution. We continue to be committed, as we have been, to establishing a legal framework to provide a solution to this issue going forward. Those of us who enforce Idaho’s laws are bound by the laws which currently exist, not those which may exist at some future date.”