Man sentenced for selling unprocessed poppyseeds

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Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper sentenced a Missouri man to 18 months in federal prison for his role in selling unprocessed poppyseeds in the eastern district of Wisconsin.

Antony Graziano was sentenced after pleading guilty to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute a material or chemical that may be used to manufacture a controlled substance, and a substantive count of distributing such a material or chemical in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 843(a)(7). Graziano sold the items through his business, Fireseed Bakery.

According to court records, Graziano marketed and sold unprocessed poppyseeds over the internet starting in September 2020 for about two years. The intent was that customers could soak the product in liquids intended to extract opium alkaloids, such as morphine, codeine and thebaine from the seeds.

As part of his business, Graziano compared the strength of the “poppyseed tea” that resulted from soaking his product with opiates such as Oxycodone and acknowledged that consuming the product carried a significant risk of overdose or death.

Graziano will serve his 18-month sentence consecutive to a 50-month sentence imposed by the Eastern District of Missouri in a separate case. He was also sentenced to one year of supervised release to follow his sentence and ordered to forfeit his home in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and approximately $20,000 in cash seized from his bank accounts.