Sam Wood reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer
Hemp in all its forms carries a strong perfume. Some call it skunky, others consider the scent of hemp and marijuana to be bracingly acrid, but for many, it reeks like a fetid mash of diesel and citrus.
In high concentrations, it can be overwhelming.
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Prompted by the stink of a drying facility near Pittsburgh, the Department of Environmental Protection on Monday issued a cease-and-desist order to a malodorous hemp business.
It’s the first time the state has shut down a hemp business since the federal government legalized the mass production of the nonintoxicating plant for industrial uses, according to the DEP.
Patriot Shield Pennsylvania LLC, which operates an otherwise nondescript blue warehouse in Jeannette, Westmoreland County, was given 48 hours to comply.
Patriot Shield did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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