Joe Exotic might be getting out of prison earlier than expected after a federal court on Wednesday overturned his 22-year sentence for his conviction in a murder-for-hire plot and multiple violations of federal wildlife laws. But no matter if Joe Exotic stays in prison, or gets released early, it seems his goal this summer is to get people stoned. Later this month, the mulleted, gun-toting former zookeeper’s cannabis brand Joe’s Exotics will launch with Delta-8-THC products, including pre-rolled joints, gummies and cannabinoid-infused seltzer aptly named “Tiger Piss,” across 37 states. (Delta-8, the most exciting, and most psychoactive compound in the hemp industry, is legal to sell outside of regulated dispensaries thanks to a legal loophole.) Later this summer, his brand will launch THC products—flower, vaporizers, and joints—in dispensaries in California with an eye to expand to Nevada and Oklahoma in the fall. Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldanado-Passage, was sentenced in January 2020 after being convicted of hiring two people to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin—she’s still alive; the plots were unsuccessful—and multiple violations of the Endangered Species Act for killing and selling tiger cubs. But this week the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that Maldanado-Passage’s sentence was calculated incorrectly because the trial court treated the two murder-for-hire convictions separately. By not grouping the two counts, Maldanado-Passage received a longer sentence than he should have.“The district court erred by not grouping the two murder-for-hire counts,” the three-judge panel wrote in its opinion. Maldonado-Passage, who is better known to millions as Joe Exotic from the Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, said during a phone call recorded by one of his lawyers that his sentence being vacated is  “the best news I’ve had in a long time.”His conviction was upheld, but his case will go back to court for re-sentencing. John Phillips, one of the attorneys representing Maldonado-Passage, says he’s filing a dozen motions in an effort to get a new trial. “We’re trying to get him out,” says Phillips. But to pay for a new legal fight, Joe Exotic needs money. And that’s where his cannabis brand comes in. Aptly named Joe’s Exotics, the brand is a licensing agreement he cut with Jason Hervey, who played Wayne Arnold in the beloved late-‘80s sitcom The Wonder Years, and a cannabis branding entrepreneur Joshua Anderson. Maldonado-Passage sold his likeness and nickname for a “healthy” advance and a stake in the business venture. Bradley Small, Maldonado-Passage’s entertainment lawyer, would not reveal the financials of the deal, but said that the money will be put into a trust and go towards his legal defense fund. Joe’s Exotics will not grow its own cannabis; it partnered with Xotic Flavorz, a small-batch cannabis farm in the Honeydew Valley in Humboldt County, California’s weed country.

All data is taken from the source: http://forbes.com
Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2021/07/16/joe-exotics-cannabis-brand-to-launch-after-court-overturned-his-murder-for-hire-plot-sentence/

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