Triad Residents Sentenced on Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges

December 01, 2016
Contact: Public Information Officer
Number: 404-893-7124

DEC 01 (GREENSBORO, N.C.) – Six members of a marijuana distribution and money laundering organization that operated in Alamance, Guilford, and Wake Counties were sentenced on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, announced Ripley Rand, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

As of November 28, 2016, five defendants - Nilanh Chanthaphavong, Davone Chanthaphavong, Marcus Emmanuel Parrish, Phadthin Sihavong, and Vanhasy Manhvong – had been sentenced by United States District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles. A sixth defendant, Eugene Ari McAdoo, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder on August 30, 2016.

According to court records, Phadthin Sihavong used the United States Postal Service to ship pounds of marijuana in overnight packages from Fresno, California, to co-conspirators in the Middle District of North Carolina. The packages were shipped with fictitious sender and receiver names and no signature was required for delivery. Once the marijuana was received in North Carolina, the co-conspirators distributed the marijuana to local customers and deposited the proceeds into a bank account in the name of Akilles Motorsports to promote the drug activity and to conceal the true nature of the proceeds. Over $1 million was deposited into the Akilles Motorsports account between February 23, 2012, and July 3, 2013. Akilles Motorsports was a business front for the money laundering organization. 
          
Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Today is a victory, not only for the multitude of law enforcement agencies who dismantled this organization, but for the citizens in Alamance, Guilford and Wake Counties. Now that these criminals have been removed from the streets, the dangerous drugs that they would have sold will never reach the consumer. This effort would not have been successful without the mission-oriented cooperation between our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts.”

“The members of this drug and money laundering conspiracy were brought to justice through effective cooperation by law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Rand. “We are pleased to have been part of the team to stop the influx of these drugs into North Carolina and to hold the offenders accountable.”

“The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. Without these ill-gotten gains, the traffickers could not finance their organizations. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed with taking the profit away from the drug traffickers and putting those individuals in jail,” stated Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Christopher J. Altemus, Jr.

Davone Chanthaphavong, of Graham, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to a term of three years’ probation and a $200.00 special assessment.

Nilanh Chanthaphavong # 30439-057 of Raleigh, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 37 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, three years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.

Vanhasy Manhvong, formerly of Whitsett, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was sentenced to 12 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.

Eugene Ari McAdoo # 33277-057 of Whitsett, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to six months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, three years supervised release, a $100.00 special assessment, and a $2500.00 fine.

Marcus Emmanuel Parrish # 30437-057 of Graham, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 15 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, three years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.

Phadthin Sihavong # 71665-097 of Fresno, CA, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 57 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, three years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall S. Galyon.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justthinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.

It’s been called one of B.C.’s most bizarre drug cases in recent memory. A story with a cast of characters including an oddball hippy, a pot-bellied pig, an overly friendly raccoon and twenty-four black bears. Oh, and a thousand pot plants, apparently guarded by the bears. The bust took place in August of 2010 near the Village of Christina Lake, British Columbia and the story travelled to all parts of the world, including the United States, Denmark, England, India and Russia, where a news anchor lady could not stop laughing as she read the story. The New York Post declared, “Don’t Smokey near this bear.” Today, Allen Piche, aka ‘The Beardude’, announced the release of his book, The Beardude Story, which chronicles his side of this strange tale.

'In my opinion, its prohibition, which was jammed down our throats against the wishes of many wise and eloquent voices for the seventies, is one of the tragedies of our society in m lifetime. The choice was, 'drugs are a health issue' versus 'drugs are a legal issues' Shame on those who perpetuated the myth that it was a dangerous drug and had to be controlled. Shame on those who, through fear and ignorance, later began the war on drugs, that nifty bit of leadership which did nothing but the opposite of its intentions. It twisted or ruined the lives of so many promising young people, the ones who might have become leaders. It crushed our belief in government and law as positive forces and raised a level of rebellion that many of us still embrace. It created the gangs and violence that we have today, just like the prohibition of alcohol did in the early years of the 1900's. Did it never occur t these people that a war on drugs is really a war on the people, their own people, thus creating a cold civil war that has lasted for over forty years?'

-- Chief Norm Stamper LEAP

'Think of this war's real causalities: tens of thousand of otherwise innocent Americans incarcerated, many for 20 years, some for life; families ripped apart; drug traffickers and blameless bystanders shot dead on the city streets; narcotics officers assassinated here and abroad, with prosecutors, judges, and elected officials in Latin America gunned down for their courageous stand against the cartels; and all those dollars spent on federal, state, and local cops, courts, prosecutors, prisons, probation, parole, and pee-in-the-bottle programs'

As you know....I (Adela Falk) serve as a prison outreach coordinator for POW420. I am here representing our brothers and sisters, children, parents, grandparents...everyone wrongly incarcerated for unjust cannabis laws. I urge for judicial reform or at best a harm reduction approach to this war on cannabis.

Our point of view is important as we bring a human approach - compassionate, empathy based policy which are always at play with humankind and to significantly inform individual’s use of cannabis and policy makers response to cannabis use. For too long, the Federal Gov’t and States have been on a path that is directed by and grounded in policies which are punitive, dehumanizing and result in over criminalization. The ‘empathy based’ movement elevates the imperative of affirming the moral center and moral authority which emanates from the sacred views inherent in all of humanity.

All over the US in every State and City global drug policies and punitive responses to cannabis use have resulted in the devastation of individuals, families and entire communities who continue to suffer the collateral damage from systems and practices that continue to marginalize and disempower them.

To be sure, US policies disproportionately impact global policies. The 1970’s declaration of the War on Drugs in the US has resulted in intergenerational human devastation and trauma. It has cost over a trillion dollars and has resulted in a system of mass incarceration where now the US who represent 5% of the world’s population holds 25% of the world's incarcerated in its jails and prisons. The current trend towards privatization of prisons only exacerbates the commodification of the incarcerated.

The disproportionate impact of the War on Drugs/Cannabis communities of color and poor people has mobilized a profound commitment from ‘the empathy movement’ to dismantle, reform and transform our system. Most importantly starting with the complete Removal/Repeal of cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act. To that end, we are asking for your collective support and mandate for drug/cannabis reform which prioritizes human dignity, equality, and social justice. Our voices and points of view are reverberating throughout America and worldwide. This cycle of injustice, moral injury, and human violation must be interrupted. We know this is not easy work and we are committed to stay the course.

We attest to the fact that people from all faiths, spiritual and religious traditions are negatively impacted by the war on cannabis, individually and corporately. We recognize that cannabis arrests are often based and caused intricately related to generational systems of poverty, racism, sexism, oppression and community marginalization. What is needed are investments in our judicial system, law enforcement to fix our system and approach cannabis use on a scientific fact based only. What is needed are policies that interrupt the mass arrest and incarceration which only furthers the untold human rights violations, massive corruption and violence being experienced by so many on a nationwide scale.

In the US context the War on Cannabis has become a War on the People. It has been noted that its practices and consequences manifest the characteristics closely identified as genocide. It is horrific and the trends towards prison privatization is but a reinvention of the American slave system. It must be dismantled. We call for commutation of all cannabis offenders on State and Federal levels.

In conclusion, we urge all of you to dig deep in your hearts, and examine these issues and policies and help others embrace a new way forward that values an empathy based agenda to fix law enforcement policies and sentencing guidelines and policies...and above all human rights.

Thank you….

August 11, 2016
Contact: DEA Public Affairs
(202) 307-7977

AUG 11 (WASHINGTON) - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced several marijuana- related actions, including actions regarding scientific research and scheduling of marijuana, as well as principles on the cultivation of industrial hemp under the Agricultural Act of 2014.

DEA Publishes Responses to Two Pending Petitions to Reschedule Marijuana 
DEA has denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In response to the petitions, DEA requested a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which was conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in consultation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Based on the legal standards in the CSA, marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse.

In his letter to the petitioners, DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg offered a detailed response outlining the factual and legal basis for the denial of the petitions.

The full responses to the petitions can be found in the Federal Register. Response 1 ANDResponse 2 

The DEA and the FDA continue to believe that scientifically valid and well-controlled clinical trials conducted under investigational new drug (IND) applications are the most appropriate way to conduct research on the medicinal uses of marijuana. Furthermore, DEA and FDA believe that the drug approval process is the most appropriate way to assess whether a product derived from marijuana or its constituents is safe and effective and has an accepted medical use. This pathway allows the FDA the important ability to determine whether a product meets the FDA criteria for safety and effectiveness for approval.  

Increasing the Number of Authorized Marijuana Manufacturers Supplying Researchers

DEA announced a policy change designed to foster research by expanding the number of DEA- registered marijuana manufacturers. This change should provide researchers with a more varied and robust supply of marijuana. At present, there is only one entity authorized to produce marijuana to supply researchers in the United States: the University of Mississippi, operating under a contract with NIDA. Consistent with the CSA and U.S. treaty obligations, DEA’s new policy will allow additional entities to apply to become registered with DEA so that they may grow and distribute marijuana for FDA-authorized research purposes.

This change illustrates DEA’s commitment to working together with the FDA and NIDA to facilitate research concerning marijuana and its components. DEA currently has 350 individuals registered to conduct research on marijuana and its components. Notably, DEA has approved 
every application for registration submitted by researchers seeking to use NIDA-supplied marijuana to conduct research that HHS determined to be scientifically meritorious.

Statement of Principles Concerning Industrial Hemp and the Agricultural Act of 2014

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in consultation with DEA and the FDA, also released a statement of principles concerning provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 relating to the cultivation of industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is a low-concentration THC variety of the cannabis plant intended to be used for industrial purposes (e.g., fiber and seed). This statement of principles is intended to inform the public, including institutions of higher education and State departments of agriculture, how Federal law applies to activities associated with industrial hemp that is grown and cultivated in accordance with Section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

This statement of principles outlines the legalized growing and cultivating of industrial hemp for research purposes under certain conditions, such as in states where growth and cultivation are legal under state law. The 2014 Act did not remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances and, with certain limited exceptions, the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the CSA continue to apply to industrial hemp-related activities. The statement of principles addresses questions including the extent to which private parties may grow industrial hemp as part of an agricultural pilot program, the circumstances under which the sale of hemp products is permitted, and other related topics.

Grinspoon and Bakalar presented six case studies of people with bipolar disorder using cannabis to to rerat their symptoms. Some used it to treat mania, depression, or both. They stated that it was more effective than conventional drugs or helped relieve the side effects of those drugs. One woman found that cannabis curbed her manic rages. Others described the use of cannabis as a a supplement to lithium (allowing reduced consumption) or for relief of lithium;s side effects.

These clinical observations are important leads to potential use of cannabinoids for manic depressive disorder and suggest that clinical trials should be conducted.

Remember, No-one belongs in jail for a plant. To learn more about cannabis and Bipolar Disorder click on the link below.

Marijuana and the Cannabinoids

Grinspoon, L. and Bakalar, J. B. (eds.) (1993) Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine, Yale ed., Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

Smoking, the principal route of cannabis administration in the United States provides a rapid and highly efficient method of drug delivery. Approximately 30% of THC in marijuana or hashish cigarettes is destroyed by pyrolysis during smoking. Drug delivery during cannabis smoking is characterized by rapid absorption of THC. Bioavailablity of smoked THC is reported to be 18-50% partly as a result of the intra- and inter-subject variability in smoking dynamics that contribute to uncertainty in dose delivery. The number, duration and spacing of puffs, hold time, and inhalation volume greatly influence the degree of cannabis exposure.

For more information about cannabis administration click below to view a free pdf book.

Marijuana and the Cannabinoids

Photo shout out to: Kalisha C Everett

The chemical structure of cannabinoids in marijuana is also important. About 95% of THC present in marijuana plant material is in the form of two carboxylic acids that are converted to THC during smoking. Scientist originally believed that if a person orally ingested marijuana without heating, very little THC would be absorbed. They had evidence that if one heated marijuana before ingestion, as occurs with marijuana brownies, significant quantities of THC were absorbed. Later studies demonstrated that an individual can also absorb THC from marijuana plants that were dried in the sun, because variable amounts of THC released by decarboxylation. Hashish and hashish oil retain much of the parent THC in a form that can be more easily absorbed, whether smoked or ingested orally.

Marijuana and the Cannabinoids ~ Click here

Turner, C.E. Elsohly, M.A., and Boeren, E.G. (1980) Constituents of cannabinoids. Clin. Pharmacokinet. 42, 327-360
Claussen, U. and Korte, F. (1968) Concerning the behavior of hemp and delta-9-6a. 10a trans-tetrahycocannabiniol in smoking, Justus Liebigs. Ann. Chem. 719, 162-165

VIA: DEA
February 03, 2016  
Contact: Public Information Officer 
Number: (313) 234-4310

Four People Charged in Large Marijuana Caper that Transported Thousands of Pounds from Arizona to Ohio

Four defendants were arrested on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016, on charges related to running a marijuana ring between Tucson, Ariz. and Columbus, Ohio. Investigators have seized more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana and more than $1.2 million in cash in connection with the investigation.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge, of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Field Division, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs and other members of Central Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Drug Task Force announced the arrests that took place today.

According to court documents, investigators initiated the investigation into a multi-kilogram marijuana drug ring in November 2015. Detectives learned large shipments were being imported into Columbus on a monthly basis by a male identified as Damian Edwards, a Jamaican native.

While conducting surveillance, law enforcement officials observed defendants renting and driving large vehicles and meeting at locations near the Polaris Shopping Place before following one another to a hotel nearby.

The defendants were each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, a crime punishable by a range of 10 years up to life in prison, and a $10 million fine.

Initial court appearances for the arrestees occurred on February 3rd before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. They include:

Damian Edwards, 38, of Columbus; Hopie Dawn Edwards, 34, of Columbus; Theo Lavelle Smith, 33, of Columbus; and German Alfredo White, 53, of Jacksonville, Fla.  

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the DEA and Columbus Division of Police, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Hunter and David Bosley, who are prosecuting the case.

Charges contained in a complaint are allegations. All defendants should be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

POW420 is looking for writers to submit articles about everything cannabis. Are you interested in being a writer for POW420? Contact us today at [email protected] or 619-517-9645 and find out how you can help end cannabis prohibition. Help spread education and information about marijuana.

Remember, No-one belongs in jail for a plant.

Drug War Atrocities: Families Torn Apart, People Caged For A Plant

 Q: When is it okay to take man from his home because he didn’t hand over an alleged cellphone that a person owns, or when is it okay to make a man a higher-level threat behind bars because people reached out to the authorities in support for him?

A: When they’ve been found guilty of believing they could support their families by “legally” selling marijuana in States that have medical marijuana laws.

The Drug War, and the archaic drug laws we have, make our country morally like North Korea, prosecuting innocent mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, neighbors…innocent Americans. The Drug War is a fine example of the idiocy that pervades America and why Trump could be president.

The Persecution of Lance Gloor

Yesterday I was messaged by Lance Gloor’s mom that he was arrested, taken from his home with no time to contact others, taken from his home weeks before his sentencing date over a cellphone that could serve no purpose since the trial is over. He’s been waiting to hear his sentence after being on house arrest for two years and being found guilty January 15 for essentially not being part of the State sanctioned I-502 recreational marijuana stores.

Lance Gloor was taken away from his home, from his family, from his teenage daughter for not handing over a phone the feds say exist. From the prosecutorial standpoint, I wonder why this was an issue? Why do you need to see the phone of a man that has been homebound for two years, homebound with an ankle bracelet that has GPS and can detect alcohol through his sweat?

What’s the point of harassing a man that has already been found guilty and just wants his day in court now?

The sentence, the time, the punishment he has endured already does not fit the crime for him and oh so many others.

Lance Gloor should not be behind bars now.



There was a group of us there supporting him. We met in solace, familiar faces facing a familiar enemy… The United States vs. Lance Gloor. Everyone found a place to sit, in support of a guy that shouldn’t even be there. No one knew why he was taken in; there was no time for that. Everyone waited to hear the charge — even Lance, after a night of sitting in jail.

The actual charge was of “being in parole bond violation” but what was read by the prosecuting attorney was mumbo jumbo; there was no blatant laid out statement, just a lot of where hereto and thou legal bullshit.

The prosecution laid out their case, and Lance’s stand in lawyer didn’t have much to come back with except “not guilty.” At this point, the law seems like a matter of he said, she said bullshit.

Lance’s defunct lawyer had no counter-punch to the prosecutor’s imaginary allegations. Lance handed over a phone that  was returned to his mother along with his possessions the following day.

Again, what’s the purpose of prosecuting a man for a phone when the man never left his house? What new crime can you prove when the prosecution of the first one shouldn’t have gone as far as it did?

Lance presently resides in the same federal prison as Chris Williams, another prisoner of pot. Williams’ partner died in prison while chained to a bedpost… R.I.P Richard Flor. They reside in a federal prison in a state that has both recreational and medical marijuana.

The Sad Case of Chris Martin




The war on pot has given government officials — with no real desire to protect the people — the ability to imprison and punish people they don’t agree with. That is exactly what’s happening to Lance Gloor and that is exactly what is happening to Chris Martin in Arizona.

As I write these words, a man is dying in jail… Many men, many innocent men, are dying in jail daily, but let’s focus for a moment upon one individual in particular: Chris Martin.

Chris Martin suffers from Crohn’s disease, and because of that was suppose to receive a lenient sentence since the presiding judge’s son suffers from the same disease, and recognized that he suffers from his condition more than any legal sentence could make him endure, especially since the time does not fit the crime.

Besides being a loving father and husband who has not seen his kids since his incarceration for pot, Chris is a compassionate caregiver, a prisoner trying to make a difference though coloring books, a chef, an entrepreneur, a contestant for The Marijuana Show, a father and husband… and crucially, he’s not a criminal.



His condition worsens from day to day, prison care is a death sentence; not because the medical staff are bad, but because they’re understaffed and the health of Third World citizens like inmates is no one’s problem.

Chris sits in the Yuma State Prison and is being punished not just for pot but for also people reaching out to the prison trying to make sure the system knows he’s not forgotten. Instead he’s been labeled to be part of a “gang” and has been considered a higher threat for having people that give a fuck for a man that doesn’t belong in jail.

Right now, people, men and women of the Arizona state correctional institution, are torturing an innocent man in a state that has active dispensaries and legal medical marijuana.

They are trying to beat the will out of him, but are instead making him stronger and worse case scenario a martyr… but we don’t need anymore of those now. The bullies of the Reefer Madness propaganda machine want you to give up, want him to give up, but he has this to say: “Do not stop calling, do not stop trying to do what right.”

“They will take it out on him, and he has to sit there anyways. We are doing NOTHINGwrong. We are trying to help a man that is helpless in there,” his wife, Andi, said. “I am clarifying now that Chris Martin is NOT a gang member. He is a father, a business owner, a friend, and an activist. He has ALWAYS wanted only to help others, and this should not stop any of us from wanting to help him.”

Well that’s this week’s depressing news, until next fucked up situation that I have all the facts in, your boy Miggy420 signing out.

 
Miguel Miggy