CHAMPS Las Vegas Briefly Shut Down After Free CBD Sample Given To Undercover Officer, No Arrests Made (Updated)
Security officers briefly shut down the CHAMPS Glass Trade Show after a non-infused sample was given to a member of the Las Vegas Security Services team.
After a day of confusion and conflicting statements, a formal message from the Trade Show explains the context of the incident.
Earlier story;
This morning, federal authorities temporarily shut down the CHAMPS Trade Show in Las Vegas while searching for the presence of the nonpsychoactive chemical Cannabidiol (CBD) after a free sample was given to a federal agent.
Uncle Stoner, speaking to Hap Kent from CHAMPS, was able to confirm the event is once again open and the incident occurred after a free CBD sample was given to an undercover federal agent on the trade show floor.
That a free sample of CBD led to a full scale federal raid of a trade show will certainly raise eye-brows, due to the benign nature of the compound coupled with a history of relatively lax enforcement by both state and federal authorities.
It was not immediately clear why federal agents were at the trade show looking for samples of CBD, however a video circulating on social media of CHAMPS Staff speaking to vendors upon the venue reopening (originally sourced from "sirhigh" on IG) has led to speculation that delta-8 THC may also have been involved;
However, it is also entirely possible that the portion of the announcement related to delta-8 (which, like CBD, can also be produced from hemp but, unlike CBD, has also caused some controversy due to the methods needed to produce delta-8) was entirely unrelated to the raid itself as the speech ends with a general reminder, unrelated to delta 8, about a ban on giving out samples of any kind.
Nevada is one of only a few states that specifically outlaws delta-8 THC in their controlled substances act by name, and the warning may have been a general statement about that law;
The CHAMPS Trade Show is a yearly event that has, for recent years, found its home in Las Vegas. Attracting many of the glass art industries largest artists and vendors, the expo's reputation no doubt raised even further alarms as news of this morning's raid made the rounds on social media.
Video from event attendee Bobby West (AKA Uncle Stoner) did confirm the trade show had reopened as of Wednesday afternoon, Las Vegas time.
Below, CHAMPS Social Media post highlighting a prior year's convention.
First published: 3:27PM Eastern Daylight Time, 7/28/2021
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By: Grant Smith Ellis
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Bobby West
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