Attorney for men accused of bringing marijuana into Oklahoma says it was actually hemp

An attorney for two of four men accused of bringing thousands of pounds of marijuana into Oklahoma says it's all a misunderstanding and that they were actually transporting hemp legally.Pawhuska police told FOX 23 in Tulsa that officers pulled over a semitruck that ran a red light Wednesday morning. They soon learned the truck was carrying 18,000 pounds of a leafy green plant.A white van was following the truck down the road before the traffic stop, according to police. One officer said they felt something was not right about the truck.Attorney Matt Lyons told KOCO he represents drivers of the minivan following the semitruck and that their company, Patriot Shield, specializes in the legal transportation of hemp. Lyons said the men were following the semitruck to avoid what ultimately happened.Police said the people driving the truck gave officers a bill of sale for hemp weed, but investigators said the document was vague, FOX 23 reported.The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has agreed to test the hemp on behalf of the Drug Enforcement Administration, currently immobilized by the partial government shutdown. In the meantime, the men involved remain behind bars, the attorney says.A bill recently signed by President Donald Trump officially legalized industrial hemp.Although hemp looks like marijuana, it only has trace amounts of THC, the chemical compound that gets people high.

An attorney for two of four men accused of bringing thousands of pounds of marijuana into Oklahoma says it's all a misunderstanding and that they were actually transporting hemp legally.

Pawhuska police told FOX 23 in Tulsa that officers pulled over a semitruck that ran a red light Wednesday morning. They soon learned the truck was carrying 18,000 pounds of a leafy green plant.


A white van was following the truck down the road before the traffic stop, according to police. One officer said they felt something was not right about the truck.

Attorney Matt Lyons told KOCO he represents drivers of the minivan following the semitruck and that their company, Patriot Shield, specializes in the legal transportation of hemp. Lyons said the men were following the semitruck to avoid what ultimately happened.

Police said the people driving the truck gave officers a bill of sale for hemp weed, but investigators said the document was vague, FOX 23 reported.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has agreed to test the hemp on behalf of the Drug Enforcement Administration, currently immobilized by the partial government shutdown. In the meantime, the men involved remain behind bars, the attorney says.

A bill recently signed by President Donald Trump officially legalized industrial hemp.

Although hemp looks like marijuana, it only has trace amounts of THC, the chemical compound that gets people high.