Wyoming threats force Kroger affiliate, another local grocer to pull CBD products

A Colorado-based grocer backed by national chain Kroger has removed CBD products from one of its stores in Wyoming after warnings from police.

Lucky’s Market – a Boulder, Colorado, company that partners with Cincinnati-based Kroger – and Jackson Whole Grocer & Cafe took the CBD off their shelves in Jackson Hole after they were threatened with criminal penalties if they continued selling them.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation told the stores the products were illegal, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported.

State regulators argued that some of the products tested positive for THC, marijuana’s intoxicating cannabinoid.

One of the brands taken off shelves belongs to CV Sciences, a Las Vegas CBD manufacturer.

“We will address this like any issue with our lobbyists and attorneys,” said Josh Hendrix, director of business development at CV Sciences. “It should be an easy conversation. But we need clear-cut legislation.”

Hendrix disagrees with Wyoming authorities on the product’s legality.

“We don’t get our products from marijuana,” he told the News & Guide. “This has happened enough times that the misinterpretation gives us an opportunity to educate.”

Lucky’s Market said it took CBD products off shelves last week.

“We’ve pulled the products in a gesture of good faith,” Lucky’s store director Chris Martinez told the Jackson Hole newspaper.

The specialty grocer has roughly 30 stores in 11 states, making it one of the largest multistate retailers to carry CBD.

Lucky’s Market received an infusion of cash from Kroger in 2016, fueling its expansion into new markets.

The Division of Criminal Investigation told the News & Guide that agents have been collecting CBD around Wyoming since late last year and that an investigation continues into CBD’s legality.

“They are wasting their time,” Hendrix told the newspaper. “This is a very disruptive thing.

“Cannabis has been demonized for so long. I’ve grown hemp on my farm. You can’t get high off it.”