Oregon Extract Maker Arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska with 25 lbs. of Marijuana Shatter
LINCOLN, Neb. – An Oregon man was arrested with more than $1 million dollars’ worth of shatter after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop. Richard Wilkinson, 38, was caught with more than 25 pounds of marijuana shatter by the Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies said that they smelled marijuana when they pulled Wilkinson over after they noticed another car following Wilkinson’s U-Haul very closely.
Upon searching Wilkinson’s van, they deputies found 25 pounds of shatter concentrate, 3,500 cannabis seeds, hash oil and packages of raw cannabis. Wilkinson is the owner of the cannabis cultivation company Rich Extracts near Portland, Ore. Marijuana is legal in Oregon state.
He was arrested with another man from who is from Rhode Island named John E. Carlson, 50, for marijuana possession with the intent to distribute. According to the arresting deputies, the men were on their way to Rhode Island, where medical marijuana is also legal. The men were pulled over on the I-80 around 2 pm on Thursday. According to Mark Pettinger, the spokesman for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the arrest was the first time an Oregon manufacturer with a cannabis license has been charged with trafficking drugs.
Lancaster Sheriff Terry Wagner said that the bust was the largest in Lincoln’s history. Sheriff Wagner also said that he was not concerned with the fact that the men were going from one legal marijuana state to another, adding that he was focused on the fact that marijuana is illegal in Nebraska. “It’s still illegal in Nebraska, and that’s all we focus on.” Sheriff Wagner said yesterday to reporters.
The rate for a gram of cannabis shatter in Rhode Island is about $100, according to the Sheriff. The men were also caught with their own personal marijuana stash.
Niko Mann is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles.
