Biden commutes sentence of former Duluth head shop owner doing time for drug trafficking

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.startribune.com/biden-commutes-sentence-of-former-duluth-head-shop-owner-doing-time-for-drug-trafficking/601195038

Jim Carlson, a head shop owner found guilty in 2013 on dozens of felony charges after experts said he sold enough synthetic drugs to cause a public health crisis in Duluth, had his sentence commuted Thursday as one of nearly 1,500 convicted criminals granted clemency by President Joe Biden.

Carlson received a 17½-year sentence after a jury found him guilty on 51 of 55 felony counts for selling synthetic drugs from his store in downtown Duluth. His two-week federal trial in Minneapolis, considered the most significant trial in Minnesota involving synthetic drugs, included charges of conspiracy, misbranding drugs, distributing a controlled substance and making illegal monetary transactions.

(snip)

Prosecutors alleged Carlson sold synthetic drugs that were misbranded as incense, potpourri, bath salts and glass cleaner, while using employees as guinea pigs to test how the unregulated drugs worked on customers.

At his sentencing in August 2014, he argued at length that the government had led him to believe the drugs he sold were legal and that the nation’s war on drugs was a failure. “Is this your ‘Reefer Madness’ moment?” he asked U.S. District Judge David Doty, referring to the movie made to scare people from smoking marijuana.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Don't know what's up with pardons like these. Is he goading Trump?

Like Trump should start screaming about Biden releasing criminals, so we can ask what about violent J6 insurrectionists that Trump will release? Maybe violence is the delineating factor on the margin.

Or maybe they've been model prisoners, and it seems they have served at least 40% of their time from the few cases I've seen.

[Hope22]

2. We give more thought and rethinking into President Biden and his pardons

Than the Orange gave any of his! I remember Jared saying how busy he was processing pardons at the end. Was it 2 million per pardon? Jared does nothing for free! The question should be….how much is the President asking in 2024. My guess is zero!!