Oklahoma Man Gets 9 Years in Prison for Moving Weed in Fake Amazon Van

A antheral successful Oklahoma City who utilized a fake Amazon van to transport cookware has been sentenced to 9 years successful national prison, according to a property merchandise from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). And it’s a large reminder that portion tremendous industries person sprung up to merchantability cannabis for recreational usage successful astir fractional of U.S. states, radical tin inactive get superior situation clip if they’re caught with weed successful the different half.

Brandon Ye, 43, utilized a van made to look similar an Amazon transportation vehicle, picking up vacuum-sealed packages of weed from licensed cannabis increasing facilities crossed Oklahoma, wherever aesculapian cannabis is ineligible but recreational usage is not. From there, Ye would determination the packages to warehouses successful Oklahoma earlier they would beryllium transported retired of authorities for sale, according to the DOJ.

Ye helped vessel astir 28 tons of weed retired of Oklahoma earlier being arrested successful December 2022, according to the DOJ. Ye pleaded blameworthy to possessing cookware with the intent to administer the cause and to possessing a firearm portion distributing the drug. Both of those things are inactive amerciable nether national law, contempt the information that President Joe Biden is currently working to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I cause successful the people of LSD and heroin to a Schedule III cause similar ketamine.

Even aft the DEA’s planned rescheduling, cookware volition inactive beryllium considered a controlled substance and it’s not wide however aggressively national authorities volition prosecute interstate cause commerce similar the lawsuit that brought Ye specified a harsh sentence.

U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk handed down Ye’s condemnation connected June 20, reportedly making a large woody of the “vast magnitude of marijuana transported by Ye during his clandestine operation.” Notably, the DOJ ne'er alleged that Ye committed immoderate convulsive acts. He simply moved a batch of weed astir and carried a weapon portion doing it. Oklahoma weapon laws let for anyone implicit the property of 21 to transportation a firearm without a permit, truthful the lone crushed Ye was charged with carrying a weapon was owed to the information helium was besides transporting cannabis.

Today, Americans look backmost astatine the epoch of intoxicant prohibition during the 1920s and laughter astatine however ridiculous it was for national authorities to criminalize moving alcohol, nary substance however “vast” the amount. With immoderate luck, radical of the aboriginal volition look backmost connected 2024 with the aforesaid perspective, fixed the information that astir Americans already judge successful the implicit decriminalization of weed.

As it stands today, conscionable 10% of Americans judge weed shouldn’t beryllium ineligible successful immoderate way, according to Pew Research, with 59% saying it should beryllium ineligible for some aesculapian and recreational use. But radical similar Ye tin inactive get locked up for astir a decennary conscionable for moving cookware around.