Jim Carlson is an American businessman and the

Grassroots Party The Grassroots Party was a political third party in the United States established in 1986 to oppose drug prohibition. The party shared many of the progressive values of the Farmer-Labor Party but with an emphasis on cannabis/hemp legalization is ...

nominee for President of the United States in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. Carlson was the owner of Last Place on Earth, a

head shop A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and ...

located in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. In September 2011, the shop was raided by police for selling

bath salts Bath salts are water-soluble, pulverized minerals that are added to water to be used for bathing. They are said to improve cleaning, enhance the enjoyment of bathing, and serve as a vehicle for cosmetic agents. Bath salts have been developed wh ...

and synthetic marijuana. After the raid, Carlson filed a lawsuit to strike down Minnesota's ban on the substances. His suit was dismissed by the court in November 2011. In June 2012, Carlson began a bid for U.S. presidency and received the presidential nomination of the

Trial and Conviction in Federal Court

On September 16, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jim Carlson went to trial, facing 55 federal charges, including selling misbranded drugs and controlled substance analogues. On October 7, 2013, he was found guilty of 51 of the 55 counts, and in 2014, he was sentenced to 17½ years."Duluth head shop owner sentenced to 17½ years for selling synthetic drugs"
Star Tribune. August 14, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Jim Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American cannabis activists Minnesota politicians convicted of crimes Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians Grassroots Party politicians American drug traffickers