It wasn't far from the fairy tale trip she'd hoped for. A great-grandmother from Tennessee was arrested on her way to Magic Kingdom last month after an Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy found CBD oil in her purse at a check point, according to an arrest report. Hester Burkhalter told a Fox news affiliate in Orlando she had been planning the trip for two years, but instead of a boat ride into a small world, she took a car ride to Orange County Jail. Burkhalter, 69, was arrested April 15 and charged with possession of hashish, a felony. She spent 12 hours in jail and was trespassed from Disney property before being released on $2,000 bail. The charges were later dropped. "I have really bad arthritis in my legs, in my arms and in my shoulder," Burkhalter told the station. "I use it for the pain because it helps." Burkhalter added that she began using the oil at her doctor's direction and carried a prescription with her just in case. That didn't help. According to the report, Burkhalter was stopped at a bag check while trying to enter Magic Kingdom around 11:30 a.m., April 15. Security personnel found a 1-ounce bottle labeled Select CBD that stated it contained zero milligrams of THC, the psychoactive property in marijuana that gets people high. CBD, similarly to marijuana, comes from the cannabis plants and is considered a cannabinoid, but does not offer the same psychoactive effects. CBD is derived from the hemp plant and is not considered marijuana. While CBD doesn't get you high, it is said to have similar health benefits to marijuana. Burkhalter's arrest report said the security officer notified a nearby deputy who tested the oil and said it came back positive for THC. He then arrested Burkhalter and trespassed her from the property. CBD has recently caused controversy as it falls into a gray area in Florida law, though it's rare to see someone arrested for possession, the Times wrote last month. In Tampa, you can take CBD bong hits and do yoga and CBD is sold on shelves in liquid, cream and edible forms throughout the state, though it is technically not legal. MORE ON CBD Is CBD legal in Florida? And other common hemp questions I took a CBD bong hit before a yoga class to see if it helps with anxiety Florida's cannabinoid oil market falls into gray area because of hemp laws How CBD blew up faster than Florida could regulate it Contact Daniel Figueroa IV at dfigueroa@tampabay.com. Follow @danuscripts.<doc-sep>click to enlarge Photo via Disney click image Photo via Hester Burkhalter/Facebook Hester Burkhalter Turns out you can't bring CBD oil to Disney World despite it being sold on store shelves across Florida.Hester Jordan Burkhalter, a 69-year-old great-grandmother with arthritis, learned that the hard way after she was arrested at the Orlando theme park last month when an off-duty Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy found the cannabis-based product in her purse at a checkpoint, according to the police report . The glass bottle said it contained a peppermint CBD tincture with zero milligrams of THC, the chemical contained within cannabis that gets you high.Burkhalter, who lives in North Carolina and was on the trip with family, told Fox 35 that she had been planning the trip for two years.The arrest, however, would land her a felony charge and a 12-hour stay in jail before posting a $2,000 bond, despite the note from her doctor that Burkhalter had in her purse at the time of the arrest.On April 15, Deputy Vernon Lebron "was working in an off duty capacity at Magic Kingdom" when he was notified by security personnel that someone may be using "illegal narcotics believed to be THC oil," according to the Orange County Sheriff's office's report. Upon inspection of Burkhalter's purse, Lebron asked if the product contained THC, to which she replied, "Is there a problem?" She then refused to answer whether it contained THC.From there, the report states that Lebron tested the glass bottle for THC using a "marijuana presumptive drug test kit." The results indicated the color red, indicating a presumptive positive result for the euphoric chemical.That's when Burkhalter was arrested.Although CBD-infused products are being sold in the Sunshine State after a 2018 federal law legalized industrial hemp (the plant CBD is extracted from) as an agricultural product, it's still illegal in Florida. State lawmakers have passed a hemp bill to create a regulatory framework for the industry, but it still needs to be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.The charges against Burkhalter were later dropped.Jennifer Synnamon, the attorney representing Burkhalter, told Fox 35 that "a little drop of oil, with the CBD, is a felony. Meanwhile, you can have up to 19.9 grams of leaf-marijuana, and it's a first degree misdemeanor."<doc-sep>Photo : rgbspace ( iStock ) , Matt Stroshane/Disney ( Getty Images ) Update, May 14, 2019: Some of you likely saw this coming. Civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Michele Rayner announced today they plan to sue Disney World, Orange County, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for arresting their client Hester Burkhalter in April. The notice of intent to sue will allege illegal detention, false arrest, and a violation of Burkhalter’s civil rights. Advertisement Original story, May 8, 2019: Grandparents are riding the CBD wave, too, in particular, one North Carolina great-grandmother whose doctor suggested CBD oil for her arthritis pain. But when that grandmother, 69-year-old Hester Jordan Burkhalter, tried to bring her CBD oil into Disney World, sheriff’s deputies stopped her during a bag check outside Magic Kingdom and arrested her. Fox-35 Orlando reports Burkhalter spent 12 hours in jail on a felony charge that she was in possession of hashish, though the charges were later dropped. Burkhalter says she was in possession of a doctor’s note and that the CBD oil contained no THC—the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that produces a high—but Orange County Sheriff’s authorities still detained her until she posted $2,000 bond. Police reports obtained by Fox-35 show a police officer tested the oil, and it did test positive for THC. The sheriff’s office maintains the deputy was just doing his job; any form of CBD is illegal in Florida unless a person possesses a prescription. Burkhalter’s lawyer says CBD is a murky gray area, as CBD is sold in stores and leads people to assume it’s legal. Advertisement Despite CBD’s inclusion in oils, gummies, candy, and burgers, the U.S. Food And Drug Administration has not approved it for general use in food. A public meeting is scheduled for May 31 to solicit comments and hear feedback on the FDA’s regulation of cannabis-derived compounds. Until the FDA rules, expect confusion over CBD’s legality in certain products to persist.<doc-sep>Hester Burkhalter said she uses the doctor-recommended oil to help her arthritis N.C. Woman, 69, Arrested Outside Disney World After Security Finds Her CBD Oil for Her Arthritis A North Carolina woman found herself behind bars after police discovered CBD oil in her purse outside Disney World. Hester Burkhalter, 69, was arrested and spent eight hours in jail after security outside Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, found the oil on April 15, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPE. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The great-grandmother told FOX 35 Orlando that she uses the oil as per her doctor’s recommendation to ease her arthritis symptoms. “I have really bad arthritis in my legs and in my arms and in my shoulder and I use it for the pain because it helps,” she told the outlet, adding that she had a doctor’s note in her purse. Burkhalter’s CBD oil tested positive for THC, the chemical responsible for the high that accompanies marijuana — despite the fact that the bottle reportedly claimed it contained zero milligrams of THC. She was booked on third-degree felony charges of possession of hashish, according to the affidavit. RELATED VIDEO: Whoopi Goldberg Founds Medical Marijuana Company for Women CBD oil is extracted from hemp, which is in the same plant family as marijuana but contains very little THC, and not enough to get you high, according to CBS News. Capt. Carlos Torres of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told FOX 35 that because the deputy knew CBD oil was illegal, he had probable cause to arrest Burkhalter. “He certainly acted within the scope of the law,” Torres said. “[Buying CBD oil] is a risk because you don’t know what you’re buying. Just because you’re buying it at a store doesn’t make it okay, and doesn’t make it legal.” According to the Tampa Bay Times, Florida’s laws regarding CBD are hazy, as hemp is illegal in the state, but there is no consensus among officials as to whether or not federal law, which differentiates hemp from marijuana, trumps Florida law. Burkhalter was released from jail on a $2,000 bond, a spokesperson for Orange County Corrections told PEOPLE. Though the charges have been dropped, according to Fox 35, the incident certainly put a damper on her highly-anticipated trip. “We had planned on this trip for over two years and we saved up for it and we were real excited,” she told the outlet. “I didn’t know what to think, I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t feel like I’d done nothing wrong.” Burkhalter’s lawyer Jennifer Synnamon told Fox News in a statement she was “very disappointed” by how the incident was handled. “Why Sheriff Mina would support his deputies using their resources for a CBD oil arrest of a 69-year-old woman, but then won’t do anything about the gas stations, health food stores, drug stores, etc. that are selling it to the open public is absolutely beyond my comprehension,” she said.<doc-sep>
Disney World may be the most magical place on Earth, but it turned into a legal nightmare for a great-grandmother with arthritis. A 69-year-old woman was arrested at a Disney World checkpoint when an Orange County Deputy found CBD oil in her purse. She then spent 12 hours behind bars before being released on a $2,000 bond. Hester Jordan Burkhalter, a great-grandmother from North Carolina, began using CBD oil for her arthritis after her doctor recommended it, Fox 35 in Orlando reported. She even had a note from the medical professional in her purse at the time of arrest, but it didn’t matter. Burkhalter told Fox 35 that she had been planning on the trip for two years. “I have really bad arthritis in my legs, in my arms and in my shoulder,” she said. “I use (CBD oil) for the pain because it helps.” When she was stopped by security outside of the Magic Kingdom, however, she was arrested. “I’ve never had one speeding ticket in my life.” MAN RENTS BILLBOARD TO APPLY FOR JOB AT DISNEY WORLD Despite the fact that it’s sold on store shelves across the state, CBD oil is still technically illegal in the state of Florida (unless the user has a prescription). This has created a confusing situation in the Sunshine State. Jennifer Synnamon, a Florida attorney, told Fox 35, “a little drop of oil, with the CBD, is a felony. Meanwhile, you can have up to 19.9 grams of leaf-marijuana, and it’s a first-degree misdemeanor.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 35 that their deputy was just following the law, the charges against Burkhalter were eventually dropped. In a statement provided to Fox News, Burkhalter's lawyer Jennifer Synnamon said "I’m very disappointed that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office handled the situation the way they did. Why Sheriff Mina would support his deputies using their resources for a CBD oil arrest of a 69-year-old woman, but then won’t do anything about the gas stations, health food stores, drug stores, etc. that are selling it to the open public is absolutely beyond my comprehension. The State of Florida finds nothing wrong with collecting the sales tax on illegal products, but they allow prosecution for possession of the same. I want to commend Aramis Ayala’s office for reviewing the case and swiftly determining that they would not prosecute." UPDATE: The Orange County Sheriff's Office provided Fox News with the following statement: "This was a lawful arrest, as possession of CBD oil is currently a felony under Florida State Statute and Deputies are responsible for enforcing Florida law and Orange County ordinances. Although CBD oil is illegal without a prescription, our top drug enforcement priority and focus at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is to get deadly drugs, like heroin and fentanyl, off the streets of our community."