Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Returns Shipment Of Wrongly Seized Hemp, Ending 'Nightmare' For Brooklyn Man
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 24, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Oren Levy
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 24, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD has returned the massive haul of hemp that it mistakenly seized from a Brooklyn business owner last month—but the department isn't copping to the error, leading to confusion about the legality of the ubiquitous, CBD-producing crop.
Oren Levy, a licensed recovery specialist and owner of Green Angel CBD, told Gothamist that he picked up his $50,000 shipment of hemp from a narcotics storage unit in Queens on Monday. It had been sitting there since November 5th, when NYPD Officers Greenidge and Ganshaw impounded the hemp, then charged Ronan Levy, Oren's brother, with felony marijuana possession.
The department later bragged on Twitter that it had successfully confiscated illicit drugs "destined for our city streets."
Throughout the ordeal, Levy maintained that the hemp was certified as having less than .3 percent THC—the cannabinoid found in marijuana that gets users high—and therefore legal under federal law. Police, meanwhile, said it tested as marijuana, and accused Levy have not having the proper paperwork.
The charges were eventually dropped by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, but not before prosecutors noted that New York's current penal law defines all cannabis—including hemp—as illegal. The office says they're pushing for a rewrite of that statute, but claims it's the NYPD's "mandate" to continue seizing hemp until then.
Products containing hemp can currently be found throughout the city (though the Health Department has prohibited restaurants from selling food and beverages made with CBD). Authorities with the state agricultural department have maintained that CBD products are legal under the Federal Farm Bill, and expressed surprise at the Brooklyn D.A.'s interpretation of the law.
A spokesperson for the NYPD did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries about whether it has a mandate to seize hemp deemed legal by the state.
"We hope the NYPD will get better training on CBD [because] what happened to us was a nightmare," Oren Levy told Gothamist. "We hope this will never happen to anyone else in our community. We need to get to the bottom of why this happened."
The business owner says he'll have the hemp tested to see if it grew mold or other bacteria while sitting in the police storage locker. He's currently suing the department and the city to recoup the losses as a result of the confiscation.
Tagged
nypd
marijuana
hemp
cbd
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:37 a.m. ET
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .