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Comment by snarfy | Hacker News Reader

Northwest Cannabis Solutions, one of the largest cannabis growers in Washington State, is run by the Russian Mafia.

I'm not sure about Mexican cartels, but legalization certainly hasn't stop organized crime involvement.

But then again if the Mafia runs legal businesses and pay their taxes, what's the differences to any other conglomerate? If the Russian Mafia runs restaurant chains for diversification that also doesn't necessarily make those bad (unless the money earned goes into illegal activities of course).

Do you have a citation for that? Ive been to a shop or two that felt a little sketchy but this interests me.

I have a testimonial about that. A friend of mine is County Counsel in a California County. He goes after illegal grow ops and shops, shuttling them down. Permits and license fees are required and many choose not to do that. He’ll go after anyone, some are just dumbasses who didn’t check the laws, and others are hardcore criminals with long, gang-related rap sheets.

I was curious too. The only noteworthy conclusion I could make from my research is that there are a lot of people associated with the company that have sort-of-Russian-sounding names. That's a pretty weak argument that they are Russian Mafia, however, and I didn't see any stronger evidence.

No citation unfortunately. My friend who runs a dispensary told me.

Seems legit... :(

Comical, your source is "my friend told me"?

On the internet, that flies. It might not seem completely trustable but then again nothing on the internet should be taken alone. Further, it’s not like there are many safe ways to make such a claim.

Agreed. Obviously the mafia doesn't participate in surveys so, barring criminal charges or conviction, anecdotal evidence is the best one can hope for.

"Don't be snarky." (to snarfy)

I don’t know where retail will get it, but I’d wager almost all the street weed in Mass. (which is now high quality) comes from an informally organized and politically active network of small local growers.

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