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Monterey County fines cannabis grower $2.4 million

August 18, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

A Monterey County judge fined a cannabis grower and two companies he headed $2.4 million last week for growing pot without the proper licenses. [Mercury News]

In 2018 and 2019, Paul King was the CEO for two Salinas based cannabis companies: Fuji Farms Inc. and Hands on Faith Association. The court ordered Fuji Farms to pay $375,760 and Hands on Faith Association to pay $2,038,424.

King, who also owned California New Wave, is personally liable for the entire judgement.

Fuji Farms cultivated thousands of marijuana plants at an indoor grow in 2018 and 2019 without the proper permits.

King acquired Hands on Faith in early 2019, shortly after its permits had expired, and sold more than $1 million in illegally grown cannabis at California New Wave, which was properly licensed.

California New Wave ousted King and is currently operating under a new owner. The judge ordered New Wave to pay $150,000 in penalties as part of the judgement.


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Since the government already spent the projected revenue from pot sales, and actual sales are a small fraction of the projected, the government certainky can’t cut their budget or personel,so they have to make of the shortfall somehow.


1

Bullshit Kayaknut, the state has a $91 BILLION surplus, partly on tax revenue from cannabis. In fact, Newsom has proposed cutting some of the taxes for pot growers to stimulate their profits. Look it up.


-5

Easy to have “surplus” when you dont count the underfunded pension liability.


6

Reads like there is lots of money to made in the “pay a fine industry” too. I forgot to consider that when pot was legalized there are many new actors with additional bad actors to fine.This too is a new revenue stream replacing the cost of taxpayer funded incarceration.


-4

Seems it’s hard for pot moguls to follow the rules. This judgement should send a message.


14