Two Mississippi CBD store owners thus far have been arrested and charged with the sale of a controlled substance after local and state law enforcement officers executed multiple warrants stemming from an investigation concerning violations of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

Tony Barragan, owner of Hybrid CBD and Relief Relief, and James Funk, owner of Slackers Supply, both in Oxford, were arrested and charged with the sale of a controlled substance.

According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, agents with the Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau of Enforcement, with assistance from the Oxford Police Department, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Task Force and Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, executed multiple warrants in Oxford on Monday stemming from an investigation concerning violations of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

It was not immediately known if warrants were served at other CBD stores in Oxford.

While CBD is an essential component of medical marijuana, it is derived directly from the hemp plant, a cousin of marijuana, or manufactured in a laboratory. One of hundreds of components in marijuana, CBD does not cause a high by itself.

However, many CBD stores are now selling THCA, which is legal under a loophole in a 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the cultivation and production of hemp — the plant that produces cannabis. Cultivators have discovered ways to grow hemp that contain a small amount of THC. As long as the THC remains under .03 percent, it can be sold in stores across Mississippi.

Earlier this year, Alex Fauver, commander of the Metro Narcotics Unit, told the Oxford Eagle that they were looking into local businesses selling THCA and testing their product to make sure it remained under the .03 percent of THC.