December 20, 2023 at 7:50 p.m.
Ellen Gerst
An owner of a Chattanooga hemp store said his car was illegally searched after Chattanooga police officers reportedly smelled marijuana during a traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court.
Nik Shipley, of Happy Hemp Farmacy in Lookout Valley, alleged the officers weren’t trained well enough to tell the difference between legal hemp and illegal marijuana products.
Shipley said the officers confiscated his gun, holster and hemp-derived edibles during the stop. Only the gun was returned to him, Shipley alleges.
(READ MORE: CBD store opens with elixir bar on North Shore as former Chattanoogan returns to city)
He and his attorney, former District Attorney Neal Pinkston, filed the complaint against the city and Officers Darnell Bryant, Andrew Serret and Karli Buckley on Sunday, court records show.
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