BOISE, IDAHO — A small-business owner with high hopes of selling oil extracted from cannabis plants in staunchly anti-marijuana Idaho has found himself lost in the weeds with local officials who say such products might be illegal in the state.
Michael Larsen applied for a building permit in February with the goal of transforming a commercial space in the tiny community of Garden City—a municipality surrounded by Boise, Idaho's largest city—into a retail store called Welcomed Science that would sell dietary supplements.
Those plans came to a halt, however, when city attorney Charles Wadams denied the application in May on the basis that cannabidiol, otherwise known as CBD oil, is illegal in Idaho.
That's because a 2015 state attorney general's opinion stated that oils extracted from cannabis plants are considered a controlled substance. However, the opinion included a key exemption: Such products can be considered legal in Idaho—as long as they contain no THC, the intoxicating component in marijuana.
Top image: © Wellesenterprises | Dreamstime.com
