A father-son team that skirted Washington state’s marijuana production regulations for years has been sentenced to 30 months apiece for selling pot on the black market.
Qixian Wu, 59, and Yong Cong Wu, 30, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle said.
“Even after multiple visits from state regulators, the Wu family continued to illegally grow and sell marijuana — some of it likely tainted with illegal pesticides,” U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said.
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As early as November 2016, “regulators began noticing irregularities in reports from the Wu’s licensed marijuana production business,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Inspections in July, August and September 2018 identified product that was not appropriately tagged or tracked,” the office said. “Samples taken in September were tested and found to be tainted with illegal pesticides. In October, inspectors from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) seized all the product” at the business, called New Direction.
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