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$13M Maine Raid Contested: It's Hemp, Not Marijuana
The federal government brought down a legal Hemp grow, not a black market marijuana operation, in Franklin County four years ago, a defense attorney argued Wednesday at the start of a trial. Lucas Sirois allegedly ran a multimillion-dollar black market marijuana operation. His father, Robert Sirois, is also accused of being involved in maintaining the operation. Their six-day jury trial started Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor.
The trial is the final legal chapter of an alleged conspiracy to sell pot illegally in Maine that ultimately led to charges against 13 people in 2021. A local selectman, an assistant district attorney, and two former Franklin County Sheriff's deputies eventually pleaded guilty to felonies as part of the scheme.
It wasn't marijuana the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized during the Maine raid, defense attorney Eric Postow said. Instead, it was Hemp. Both products are derived from the cannabis sativa plant, and faulty government testing produced incorrect results, Postow said. The government's tests heated plant samples, which can change Hemp from non-psychoactive to psychoactive, he explained.
The government maintains that marijuana was at the center of the investigation, which will be proven by lab testing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCormack said. More than 20 boxes labeled "DEA evidence" line the side of the courtroom, each containing multiple envelopes of seized marijuana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Faulk said.
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