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COLUMBIA — Authorities seized more than 30,000 pounds of marijuana joints, edibles and various other THC products sold illegally in South Carolina stores as part of a drug trafficking investigation resulting in 12 arrests, law enforcement officials announced Friday.
The 15 tons of products seized in the investigation, nicknamed “Ganjapreneur,” involved the search of six warehouses, six homes, one business and two storage units.
In all, it was about “eight U-Hauls worth” of products, Attorney General Alan Wilson told reporters.
The announcement comes as the legality of products containing delta-9 THC is debated nationwide.
In South Carolina, marijuana remains illegal.
But hemp products infused with THC — the compound in cannabis that gets people high — have proliferated in vape shops and gas stations across the state in a legal gray area. The products, which include drinks and gummies, can be legal if the THC concentration is low enough. Proving they’re illegal requires testing the products.
The investigation focused on distributors and wholesalers of products sold openly in stores. Testing showed they contained illegal levels of THC regardless of what their packaging claimed, Wilson said.
“These people were knowingly selling something that they knew was illegal here in South Carolina with the intent of profiting from it, and they were targeting minor children,” said the Republican attorney general, who is also running for governor.
The 12 people indicted by the State Grand Jury are accused of being wholesale distributors of the illegal products. They’re collectively indicted on 40 narcotics charges, which include trafficking between 10 and 100 pounds of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to the indictments unsealed Thursday.
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Sean Hocking
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