A Kentucky man says he walked into a hemp shop asking for something that would not get him high, and drove away with a Delta-8 vape. What happened next put him in a lawsuit against a North Carolina vape manufacturer, and the store that sold it to him.
Roy Howard filed the suit specifically against a Lexington store branded under the company Hemp XR in Fayette Circuit Court on August 31st. This suit was a result of him driving into a LexTran bus while intoxicated in July 2022.
Two Versions of the Same Purchase
Howard’s account, as laid out in the lawsuit, is that he came in for CBD, which he takes regularly for anxiety. He says he told the employees he was not looking for anything that would get him high, and was unknowingly sold a vape containing Delta 8, which caused him to be intoxicated during the crash.
Hemp XR sees it differently. In a legal response, the company denied all of Howard’s legal claims, stating that Howard had picked his own product off the shelf which clearly labeled “Delta 8.”
CBD, Briefly
Cannabidiol (CBD), is the second most common cannabinoid found in cannabis plants following tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoacive cannabinoid exclusive to marijuana. Its federally legal status is what made it a mainstream hemp product in the first place. With the little research that exists, CBD is suggested to provide several medical benefits like pain relief and anti-anxiety.
And Delta 8, the Compound at the Center of It
Delta 8 or Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the intoxicating cannabinoid Howard claimed he unknowingly purchased from Hemp XR. It is a form of THC like delta 9 THC which is found in marijuana, but it does not occur in large amounts. Delta 8 must be chemically converted from CBD extracted from hemp in order to scale commercially. Because it ultimately originates from hemp, it is deemed federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill.
What Each Side Is Arguing
Howard was adamant that a Hemp XR employee assured him that the product he bought would not get him high, and that he had disposed of the packaging from the product containing any warnings before leaving the store.
The company’s reply disputes that directly, adding that video footage showed Howard had left their store with the product packaging fully in tact. Its packaging carries several warnings explicitly stating to not operate heavy machinery.
“This packaging was retained by (Howard) when he left (Hemp XR) with the box in hand,” court documents state. “Video evidence of (Howard) packing the product back in the original box container, and leaving the store, is in possession of (Hemp XR),” stated the company’s legal reply.
So the case turns on a narrow question of what was said and shown at the counter: Howard maintains he told employees he intended to use the product immediately, and Hemp XR says the recording shows otherwise.
Despite the accident, Howard was not charged any crimes
Howard’s attorney, James Yoder, had mentioned that Howard “told officers on the scene what happened, and I think the officers realized that he didn’t know at the time what was happening. Mr. Howard is not an active drug user. He had no idea this was going to happen to him and in my conversations with him he felt terrible that it did happen. But he did not know he was putting anyone at risk.”
Police reports state that Howard was completely unaware that he had ran through a red light, colliding with the bus and injured two people onboard.
The claims on file are negligence, failure to warn, and violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. Hemp XR is asking for the claim to be dismissed by court and is not commenting any further.
