Comment on Hemp business owner sues over what he calls illegal raid, as officials in several towns consider bans

A raid and criminal charges against a suburban smoke shop owner have ignited a dispute over enforcement of hemp laws, with the store owner filing a lawsuit claiming improper arrest — all while officials in several towns consider bans and Illinois legislators debate new hemp regulations. Increasingly, the broader controversy is prompting cities and villages to ban hemp, while state lawmakers are considering regulations that hemp business operators say would put many of them out of business. One case in particular has boiled down the quarrel to its most hotly disputed points of contention. In East Dundee, about an hour’s drive northwest of downtown Chicago, police in August raided a hemp store called the Smoke House. They confiscated the store’s inventory and arrested manager Bilal Hussaini.