CBD Oil Lawsuit by Arrested Grandmother

Exactly. Disney security is not the police, Disney security alerted the police and allowed them to handle it. In addition, Disney can allow in whatever they choose, or not allow in whatever they choose, regardless of the legality of the item in question. It's private property.






They are named in the lawsuit because they have deep pockets. Disney is private property and they are allowed to set the rules as they choose. They call in law enforcement because it then removes Disney from the process at that point (it becomes law enforcement's job to decide what to do with the situation and in this situation they decided to make an arrest and detain the woman for processing). We are not privy to every company policy but I'd be willing to bet it's standard for them to involve the police when the item in question is illegal.



Now I'm even more confused over what she had and what the legality is (although bottom line it does seem that CBD oil is illegal for right now, period, regardless of presence of THC or availability in stores). I do also wonder what happened during the period between when security found the item, and when law enforcement got involved. We don't know if options such as discarding the item, or returning it to a car/ hotel room were options she was presented with or if she became confrontational.

"Disney can avoid the lawsuit if it's willing to sit down with Burkhalter and her family to make things right" says it all. Disney didn't do anything wrong- they are within their rights to not allow you into the park with any item, for any reason. It says so right in their policy, available online. Disney didn't arrest her or detain her.

Yes, yes, Disney is private property and its a business and all of that. I know.

uhmm, so Disney has deep pockets so they can be named in any lawsuit? No. They can be named in this one because Disney is where it all started. Not being the police has nothing to do with it.
 
Well naturally, as he should.

Yes, yes, Disney is private property and its a business and all of that. I know.

uhmm, so Disney has deep pockets so they can be named in any lawsuit? No. They can be named in this one because Disney is where it all started. Not being the police has nothing to do with it.

They can be named because anyone can sue anyone, that's how it works. I didn't say they couldn't be named in a lawsuit because they aren't the police.

You have the right to sue anyone you want to- a judge has the right to toss it out of court for lack of merit. I stand by my original comment- Disney is named in the suit because they have deep pockets and the woman expects more of a payout from them than from local law enforcement. Disney didn't do anything they aren't legally allowed to do.
 
Now I'm even more confused over what she had and what the legality is (although bottom line it does seem that CBD oil is illegal for right now, period, regardless of presence of THC or availability in stores). I do also wonder what happened during the period between when security found the item, and when law enforcement got involved. We don't know if options such as discarding the item, or returning it to a car/ hotel room were options she was presented with or if she became confrontational.

"Disney can avoid the lawsuit if it's willing to sit down with Burkhalter and her family to make things right" says it all. Disney didn't do anything wrong- they are within their rights to not allow you into the park with any item, for any reason. It says so right in their policy, available online. Disney didn't arrest her or detain her.
Law enforcement apparently looks the other way about CBD oil all over FL, and they could've in this case, too.

Instead they arrested this normally law-abiding grandma, took her away from her family right from Disney property, kept in jail for 12 hrs :faint: , fined her, and sent her packing, even having to wait, probably terrified and yes, traumatized, in the middle of the night in a McDonalds for her husband to pack up their things at their resort since she wasn't allowed back on Disney property. IMO Disney was complicit in this situation. I doubt they meant to be cold-hearted, but they were.

It's funny how people criticize lawsuits until they're the ones affected.
 
Some more details.

The lawsuit has not actually been filed yet.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/new...0190514-mmtgumqurvcxxknbqih522z6hy-story.html

“Today in Orlando, we were able to go into the store and buy CBD,” Crump said. “It’s all over Orlando. It’s all over Florida.”

He said the majority of CBD enforcement has been lenient because of the in-between legal state and cases like Burkhalter’s are rare.

She was trespassed from Disney and arrested for possession of hashish — a felony charge mostly used for vape pens with concentrated THC oil.

Crump and Burkhalter said at the press conference that the field test used can’t distinguish between CBD and THC oil, and the only way to indicate the difference is a lab test.

Burkhalter said she was in jail for about 12 hours after her arrest. However, even after her release, she couldn’t go back to Disney property to pick up her stuff. She said she waited in a McDonald’s at 2:30 a.m. while her husband collected their belongings.

Disney can avoid the lawsuit if it’s willing to sit down with Burkhalter and her family to make things right.

“Where’s your decency? Where’s your common sense?” Crump said. “Is this how you are going to treat people when they come to the happiest place on Earth?”

She couldn't even get her stuff? Come on, Disney ... That's ludicrous
 


Yes, yes, Disney is private property and its a business and all of that. I know.

uhmm, so Disney has deep pockets so they can be named in any lawsuit? No. They can be named in this one because Disney is where it all started. Not being the police has nothing to do with it.

But I think the point here is that Disney did not do one single thing wrong - not at all. They simply followed the law. In fact, not following the law would be more likely to result in a viable lawsuit if it resulted in damages to a patron.

Now, you don't have to like the law. I think it's a bit silly myself, but how can anyone fault Disney for simply abiding by it?
 
But I think the point here is that Disney did not do one single thing wrong - not at all. They simply followed the law. In fact, not following the law would be more likely to result in a viable lawsuit if it resulted in damages to a patron.

Now, you don't have to like the law. I think it's a bit silly myself, but how can anyone fault Disney for simply abiding by it?
When laws are applied discriminately, then those involved open themselves up to criticism.

The fact that they sell CBD oil all over the state of FL and nothing is done about it makes it a problem here, IMO.

If it was not allowed at all, then that would be a different matter.
 
Law enforcement apparently looks the other way about CBD oil all over FL, and they could've in this case, too.

Instead they arrested this normally law-abiding grandma, took her away from her family right from Disney property, kept in jail for 12 hrs :faint: , fined her, and sent her packing, even having to wait, probably terrified and yes, traumatized, in the middle of the night in a McDonalds for her husband to pack up their things at their resort since she wasn't allowed back on Disney property. IMO Disney was complicit in this situation. I doubt they meant to be cold-hearted, but they were.

It's funny how people criticize lawsuits until they're the ones affected.

I understand that law enforcement looks the other way, that doesn't mean Disney is required to and unfortunately it doesn't even mean that law enforcement is required to either. It was law enforcement's decision to arrest and detain her, not Disney's. I have had to get the police involved in things where I used to work, and the police never asked us (the business owner/ managers) what we wanted done about it. Once we called, it was law enforcement's "show" from there. Disney decided to trespass her from the property. That is also their right. I'm uncertain as to why she was left by her family at a McDonald's at 2:30 AM while her husband picked up her things. If there was genuinely no other way for her things to be collected, and no other place (such as a car/ hotel room) for her to wait then arrangements could have been made for Disney security to return them to her. I am unsure as to why her family would not have taken them when the woman was arrested. I wasn't there.

No one has to like a law. No one has to like a policy. But in the case of Disney it is VERY easy to forget that they are privately owned and have the right to refuse service or entry for any reason. It says so in the policy available online to all of us. We also don't know what transpired when the woman was stopped. She may have been calm and polite or she may have been hostile and combative. I've encountered both in more than one area of Disney in just the last 24 hours.

Don't confuse my criticism of this lawsuit as a lack of being affected by a lawsuit.

When laws are applied discriminately, then those involved open themselves up to criticism.

The fact that they sell CBD oil all over the state of FL and nothing is done about it makes it a problem here, IMO.

If it was not allowed at all, then that would be a different matter.

Disney has the right to not allow anything into the park that they choose not to allow. Selfie sticks are legal, but they are not allowed. Firearms are legal with the appropriate documentation as required, but they are not allowed into the parks. Loose ice is legal, but it is not allowed into the parks at the security checkpoints. So in that respect, this one is not on Disney. Law enforcement, perhaps, but not Disney.
 


When laws are applied discriminately, then those involved open themselves up to criticism.

The fact that they sell CBD oil all over the state of FL and nothing is done about it makes it a problem here, IMO.

If it was not allowed at all, then that would be a different matter.

Criticism is one thing. I might even say that Disney didn't handle this well, or could've just confiscated the offending item and called it a day, but I can't see suing them and expecting to win. Now, consistent enforcement of said law falls on the police and the governmental entities with jurisdiction. Suing them makes more sense because they are not fairly enforcing the law. That is not Disney's responsibility.
 
I understand that law enforcement looks the other way, that doesn't mean Disney is required to and unfortunately it doesn't even mean that law enforcement is required to either. It was law enforcement's decision to arrest and detain her, not Disney's. I have had to get the police involved in things where I used to work, and the police never asked us (the business owner/ managers) what we wanted done about it. Once we called, it was law enforcement's "show" from there. Disney decided to trespass her from the property. That is also their right. I'm uncertain as to why she was left by her family at a McDonald's at 2:30 AM while her husband picked up her things. If there was genuinely no other way for her things to be collected, and no other place (such as a car/ hotel room) for her to wait then arrangements could have been made for Disney security to return them to her. I am unsure as to why her family would not have taken them when the woman was arrested. I wasn't there.

No one has to like a law. No one has to like a policy. But in the case of Disney it is VERY easy to forget that they are privately owned and have the right to refuse service or entry for any reason. It says so in the policy available online to all of us. We also don't know what transpired when the woman was stopped. She may have been calm and polite or she may have been hostile and combative. I've encountered both in more than one area of Disney in just the last 24 hours.

Don't confuse my criticism of this lawsuit as a lack of being affected by a lawsuit.



Disney has the right to not allow anything into the park that they choose not to allow. Selfie sticks are legal, but they are not allowed. Firearms are legal with the appropriate documentation as required, but they are not allowed into the parks. Loose ice is legal, but it is not allowed into the parks at the security checkpoints. So in that respect, this one is not on Disney. Law enforcement, perhaps, but not Disney.
I get it. But I have no doubt that supervising management and security representatives were swiftly on scene and perhaps could've sorted this out before it got to the point that it did. I seriously doubt this was the first time they've come across a CBD oil issue given that it's sold widely all over FL.

Criticism is one thing. I might even say that Disney didn't handle this well, or could've just confiscated the offending item and called it a day, but I can't see suing them and expecting to win. Now, consistent enforcement of said law falls on the police and the governmental entities with jurisdiction. Suing them makes more sense because they are not fairly enforcing the law. That is not Disney's responsibility.
Exactly, to the bolded. It is hard to respond to the rest since we don't have exact details of the lawsuit since it hasn't been filed yet. As I said before, it will be interesting to see what happens.
 
Law enforcement apparently looks the other way about CBD oil all over FL, and they could've in this case, too.

Instead they arrested this normally law-abiding grandma, took her away from her family right from Disney property, kept in jail for 12 hrs :faint: , fined her, and sent her packing, even having to wait, probably terrified and yes, traumatized, in the middle of the night in a McDonalds for her husband to pack up their things at their resort since she wasn't allowed back on Disney property. IMO Disney was complicit in this situation. I doubt they meant to be cold-hearted, but they were.

It's funny how people criticize lawsuits until they're the ones affected.
They fined her? I thought she paid bond. Wouldn't she receive that back?
 
No, I've never done anything that I could be arrested for, either.
It may not be pleasant, but there is no report that she was violated.
I think the word "traumatic" is WAY overused.
She wasn't hurt or abused (as far as I've heard). She knew she wasn't going to rot in jail over CBD oil, bond would be relatively quick.

Imagine being a 69 year old model senior citizen, that has never been ticketed in your life, handcuffed and arrested in front of God and everyone, grandchildren included; placed into the back of a sheriff’s deputy vehicle and transported downtown to the Orange County Jail; booked into Jail with a full body search, fingerprints, and mugshot; spending 12 hrs in a cold jail cell with minimal phone calls like a common criminal, while your family is searching for a bondsman and criminal defense attorney. During a WDW vacation.

That is not a position you would want your 69 yr old grandmother or family to be in.


Are they not clear? From what I read they are.
Where have you read them saying they don't know if she broke any laws?

Her charges were dropped, that should be the end of her story.
But it isn't. She wants some big payday. She was arrested and detained because she committed a felony in the state of FL. (At least that is what everything I have read says, if you have read differently please link.)

There is no other reason to name Disney in the lawsuit besides hoping they will settle to avoid the bad PR. They didn't arrest her, they didn't detain her. They did what they were supposed to do when someone is doing something illegal.

I’m assuming it’s because Disney employees (security guards) initiated the arrest, and she was charged onsite with trespassing, which according to a Disney spokesperson has now been lifted.

Because there is a lot of money to be made during the period of time where it is legal Federally and illegal at the state level. The entrepreneurs opening stores are willing to take the risk to make the money.

The county won’t shut them down, because the dispensaries pay taxes...which go into the county budget to fund the sheriff’s office to arrest little, old peppermint oil grannys...

They fined her? I thought she paid bond. Wouldn't she receive that back?

No
 
I get it. But I have no doubt that supervising management and security representatives were swiftly on scene and perhaps could've sorted this out before it got to the point that it did. I seriously doubt this was the first time they've come across a CBD oil issue given that it's sold widely all over FL.

Every single time I entered a park over the last 6 days, law enforcement was there. Right as I exited the bus, right by the bag check. Same for my August trip and my September trip last year. As far as supervisors, security supervisors were also all over the place moving from table to table. It took seconds for them to move to someone who needed assistance. In more than one case, security working a bag check was moved to another table to help a guest who did not speak English. A supervisor immediately facilitated that change, in seconds. The people who check the bags ARE security agents, there are several other agents all over the place, many that we don't even see. I VERY highly doubt the issue here was a lack of supervision and security.

Again, we also don't know what exactly transpired when the woman was told she could not take it into the park.

ETA: an article cites the police report as indicating that the woman was asked whether the oil contained THC, and refused to answer and that is the point at which security involved law enforcement.
 
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Instead they arrested this normally law-abiding grandma,
See this is why I have an issue with the way it's presented. In once sentence you talk about:

When laws are applied discriminately, then those involved open themselves up to criticism.

But in others you make it clear this was a grandma.

So are you saying if this individual was not a grandmother, or was not up there in age you would have a different opinion? If the answer is no you would not feel differently then I just don't see the point in continuously referring to her a grandma or her age. It makes it sound like we should be treating her differently than someone else.

Now I'm not saying I don't understand how she could have had an experience that shook her up. But I'd rather say that's an experience we all could feel honestly irrespective of her status as a great-grandmother or her age.

I don't feel like people would be focusing on my status or age as a married, 31 year old with no kids if this happened to me despite the fact that I could have had the same experience as the woman in question.
 
I seriously doubt this was the first time they've come across a CBD oil issue given that it's sold widely all over FL.

And we don't know that they haven't had other similar items found by security, or that those guests weren't handled exactly the same. All we know (or assume) is that apparently no one else has felt need to be so public about it or threaten/file a lawsuit.

WDW security may well have been the consistent ones in this situation. If an illegal substance or item is found, they may have standard procedure to involved law enforcement. If they make exceptions for 1 person with 1 item that snowballs on them. Everyone always complains that WDW is inconsistent in following/enforcing their own rules. But now that they do enforce it, people complain they should be lenient. Go figure.


Where I live, there's conflicting laws about fireworks. It is not illegal to sell them. It is not illegal to buy them. It IS illegal to possess them and use them... figure that one out. It causes problems every summer, but hasn't been fixed yet. Inconsistent or conflicting laws are everywhere.
 
See this is why I have an issue with the way it's presented. In once sentence you talk about:

But in others you make it clear this was a grandma.

So are you saying if this individual was not a grandmother, or was not up there in age you would have a different opinion? If the answer is no you would not feel differently then I just don't see the point in continuously referring to her a grandma or her age. It makes it sound like we should be treating her differently than someone else.

Now I'm not saying I don't understand how she could have had an experience that shook her up. But I'd rather say that's an experience we all could feel honestly irrespective of her status as a great-grandmother or her age.

I don't feel like people would be focusing on my status or age as a married, 31 year old with no kids if this happened to me despite the fact that I could have had the same experience as the woman in question.

I would feel this way for *anyone* using the product for pain with a doctor’s note or recommendation, but also understand that the law is the law...

However, the fact that a little drop of CBD oil (derived from the leaf) is a felony, but you can have up to 19.9 grams of leaf-marijuana and it be a first-degree misdemeanor is messed up.

^ That right there proves that laws need to change.
 
See this is why I have an issue with the way it's presented. In once sentence you talk about:



But in others you make it clear this was a grandma.

So are you saying if this individual was not a grandmother, or was not up there in age you would have a different opinion? If the answer is no you would not feel differently then I just don't see the point in continuously referring to her a grandma or her age. It makes it sound like we should be treating her differently than someone else.

Now I'm not saying I don't understand how she could have had an experience that shook her up. But I'd rather say that's an experience we all could feel honestly irrespective of her status as a great-grandmother or her age.

I don't feel like people would be focusing on my status or age as a married, 31 year old with no kids if this happened to me despite the fact that I could have had the same experience as the woman in question.
You have an issue with me referring to her a law-abiding grandma when a few posts back you split hairs between The Happiest Place on Earth vs The Most Magical Place on Earth? :laughing:

People can use discretion. I was pulled over recently but I didn't get a ticket. The officer used discretion when he talked to me and looked me up. I assume they saw she was someone not normally involved in drug or other illicit activity. Since it was daytime, they also could've easily called her doctor's office. (Judge Judy does it all the time!)
 
And we don't know that they haven't had other similar items found by security, or that those guests weren't handled exactly the same. All we know (or assume) is that apparently no one else has felt need to be so public about it or threaten/file a lawsuit.

WDW security may well have been the consistent ones in this situation. If an illegal substance or item is found, they may have standard procedure to involved law enforcement. If they make exceptions for 1 person with 1 item that snowballs on them. Everyone always complains that WDW is inconsistent in following/enforcing their own rules. But now that they do enforce it, people complain they should be lenient. Go figure.


Where I live, there's conflicting laws about fireworks. It is not illegal to sell them. It is not illegal to buy them. It IS illegal to possess them and use them... figure that one out. It causes problems every summer, but hasn't been fixed yet. Inconsistent or conflicting laws are everywhere.
While this could be true, it did make the news prior to the announcement of a potential of a lawsuit - presumably because it was so unusual, if not preposterous.

This was a medical treatment prescribed by her doctor. I've often wondered while standing in those lines myself, what types of things they're finding in peoples' bags and pockets. As I said earlier in the thread, I never gave it much thought before my last trip when I had a Depends in my bag for my 93 yr old mother and it made me think about it a different way.
 
You have an issue with me referring to her a law-abiding grandma when a few posts back you split hairs between The Happiest Place on Earth vs The Most Magical Place on Earth? :laughing:

People can use discretion. I was pulled over recently but I didn't get a ticket. The officer used discretion when he talked to me and looked me up. I assume they saw she was someone not normally involved in drug or other illicit activity. Since it was daytime, they also could've easily called her doctor's office. (Judge Judy does it all the time!)

You are correct - law enforcement and security can use discretion - however they should not be opened up to lawsuits when they don't. This would pretty much be like you suing that cop if he had given you a ticket because he sometimes doesn't give a ticket to others. Again, I am all for criticism of this law and even how this situation unfolded, however nothing shows that anyone did anything improper or illegal. The potential plaintiff is the one who broke the law, knowingly or not, and suing because they didn't like the outcome is frivolous.
 
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Police report is publicly available. It indicates that the oil was removed from her bag by security and she asked “is there a problem?” When the security agent asked if the oil contained THC, she refused to answer. The security agent then enlisted the help of an off-duty deputy working in a private capacity at Disney that day. That deputy then enlisted the help of the Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy who was already on scene. That Deputy (on-duty, already on scene) then informed the woman that the oil would be tested for THC.

The report says nothing about her indicating a doctors permission or prescription, or anything about indicating it was for her arthritis. She had the doctor fax that the day after her arrest. Her attorney said as much.

She was arrested at 11:30 AM. The bail bondsman’s receipt is stamped 4:51 PM on the same day she was arrested, so something isn’t adding up there. Bond was set by at least 4:51 (earlier, as they had to actually find and go to a bail bondsman but that’s not the sheriff’s fault). If you have to post bond to get out, then how long you are detained from the point bail is set is determined by how long it takes for someone to bail you out. If they had bond at 4:51 PM that’s not a 12 hour detainment, and I’m not quite sure why it took until 2:30 AM for someone to get her belongings.
 

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