Alex Impey: Hemp store owner sentenced for large-scale ‘humanitarian’ cannabis oil drug supply

A northern NSW hemp shop owner who spent more than a month behind bars, some in solitary confinement, has been sentenced for drug supply – over what was largely coconut oil. Watch the video.

A hemp store owner who spent more than a month behind bars at Silverwater prison, some of that in solitary confinement, has been sentenced for large-scale commercial drug supply.

Alexander Robert Impey, 33, faced Coffs Harbour District Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to supplying greater than a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug – cannabis oil – and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Charges stemmed from the sale of the oil via the Bellingen Hemp Store which Impey owned at the time between late 2019 and mid-2021, the court was told.

Alex Impey, 33, was sentenced for medicinal cannabis oil supply in Coffs Harbour District Court. A bundle of character references were handed up and a doctor described him a local hero. Picture: Janine Watson.

The product Impey was selling containing as little as two per cent THC, his lawyer said.

The Bellingen store has been closed, but Impey operates a shop on the Central Coast and Hemp Store Australia online.

Impey was represented in court by Byron Bay-based solicitor Paul Smart on Friday.

Mr Smart also acted for Coffs Harbour naturopath Emma Stachiw when she avoided jail in a Lismore court in November for providing cannabis oil to patients.

Mr Smart referred to Impey’s offending as more akin to supplying a large-scale commercial quantity of coconut oil, due to the low percentage of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

However, it was heard in court the weight of the oil sold over 18 months was deemed to be 9.74 kilograms – more than five times the weight required to be charged with large commercial supply.

The former Hemp Store in the main street of Bellingen is now a homewares store.

When Impey took the stand, he told Judge Michael McHugh his product was tested in a lab in Victoria.

He said the oil contained no more than three per cent THC so people didn’t get a “negative feeling”.

Judge McHugh asked Impey to explain what the negative feeling would be and he replied: “Such as feeling stoned.”

Impey said he was compelled to provide the oil after being approached by customers from across Australia unhappy with the results of the legally available prescription oil, and desperate for an alternative.

Impey claimed due to regulations in place at the time, medicinal cannabis oil was not derived from the whole plant, but that has since changed.

Medicinal cannabis has been legally able to be obtained in Australia since 2016.

Impey had no medical background, but had a business degree and was passionate about benefits of hemp and cannabis. He spent time in the United Kingdom studying products, the court was told.

The dealing with the proceeds of crime offending relates to income generated at the shop, which was documented and given freely to police.

Alex Impey, 33, and Deziree Impey at Coffs Harbour Courthouse on Friday, after Impey’s medicinal cannabis oil commercial drug supply charges were dealt with. Picture: Janine Watson.

Impey said the unregulated oil made up just less than half of profits and he had employed up to seven workers.

Judge McHugh accepted there was no “unexplained wealth” and that Impey was “not exuding wealth” after offending.

He said it was a very difficult sentencing because Impey’s case was “totally different” to that likely envisaged when parliament drafted legislation relating to commercial drug supply.

“Since I became a judge, I have been sentencing in relation to purity, which would put this at the absolute bottom” of offending – a “serious case of the sale of coconut oil,” he said.

Mr Smart urged Mr McHugh to take into account the “humanitarian side of the offending”.

He and Impey handed up 17 character references to the court – including one from Dr Loraine Fordham, who described Impey as a “true hero to the community”.

Judge McHugh accepted there was “no evidence of harm whatsoever done to the community”.

“The local ‘stoner’, quote unquote, was not buying this,” he said.

Impey was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month community correction order.

Speaking outside court, Impey said he was relieved by the outcome and that the ordeal was behind him.

He said he was passionate about continuing to help others without breaking the law.

Originally published as Alex Impey: Hemp store owner sentenced for large-scale ‘humanitarian’ cannabis oil drug supply