A 69-year-old great-grandmother from North Carolina was arrested at Disney World in Orlando for carrying CBD oil that had been recommended by her doctor to help manage arthritis.
Security officials said they came across the "illegal narcotics believed to be THC oil" upon searching the purse of Hester Jordan Burkhalter recently, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today.
The granny, who had a note in her purse from her doctor, was shocked.
"I have really bad arthritis in my legs, in my arms and in my shoulder," Burkhalter told Fox 35. "I use it for the pain because it helps."
The bottle said the CBD oil contained no THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that produces a high, but a Disney security guard was not convinced. He contacted an Orange County Deputy who used a test kit to determine whether or not the CBD oil contained THC, Heavy.com noted. The result was positive and Burkhalter was promptly arrested for being in possession of Hashish, which is a felony charge. She was later released on $2,000 bail, USA Today noted.
"I didn’t know what to think," Burkhalter told Fox 35. "I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t feel like I’ve done nothing wrong. I didn’t know, I’ve never had but maybe one speeding ticket in my life. I’ve never been in a jailhouse."
The charges were later dropped but Orange County Police Department Captain Carlos Torres said the deputy was following protocol.
"On this particular case, the deputy encountered a substance that he knew was to be illegal. He tested it and at that point, he developed probable cause to make the arrest," Torres said, per Heavy.com. "It is a risk because you don’t know what you’re buying and once again just because you are buying it at a store does not make it okay, or doesn’t make it legal, or doesn’t even make it safe for you to purchase."
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