Michigan lobbyists, politician sentenced in marijuana bribery case

A federal judge sentenced ex-lobbyist Brian Pierce to two years in prison on Wednesday and imposed a $25,000 fine for conspiring to bribe the head of a Michigan marijuana licensing board. Pierce pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and admitted to offering board leader Rick Johnson $42,000 in cash bribes between 2017 and 2019. In addition to cash bribes, Pierce admitted to paying a dancer $2,000 to engage with the politician. Pierce’s partner, Vincent Brown, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.

Has Johnson been sentenced? Johnson, a former Republican lawmaker who was once speaker of the Michigan House, was sentenced in late September to four-and-a-half years in prison after admitting he received a total of $110,000 in bribes. “I am a corrupt politician,” Johnson told the court, according to The Detroit News. Michigan businessman John Dalaly was also sentenced to 28 months in prison last month for bribing Johnson.

Dig deeper: Read Heather Frank’s report in WORLD Magazine about the effects of prenatal CBD exposure.