BENTON — A 39-year-old West Frankfurt man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in federal prison, according to the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter.

Jason Furlong previously pleaded guilty to those offenses. Following release from imprisonment, Furlong will serve a 3 year term

of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $300 fine and a $200 special assessment.

The investigation in the case showed that Furlong’s co-defendant, Walter Wayne Moser of Eugene, Oregon, operated a medical marijuana dispensary that was legal under Oregon state law. In addition to dispensing medical marijuana to patients in Oregon, Moser diverted pounds of marijuana to Furlong, in West Frankfort, where the marijuana was resold for recreational use. Furlong would sell the marijuana and send payment back to Moser by FedEx in packages addressed to Moser’s graphic design company, which Moser used as a front to conceal the nature of the drug proceeds.

“Even as States like Illinois and Oregon have enacted laws allowing for medical use of marijuana, the United States Department of Justice still maintains a strong federal interest in preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states and in preventing the diversion of marijuana intended for medical use to recreational use,” said Acting United States Attorney James L. Porter.

Evidence in support of this prosecution was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Agencies participating in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, and the Illinois State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce.