A prospective cannabis grower based in Western Washington is seeking to buy the business stripped from Clarence “Cip” Paulsen III, a former federal inmate who established a legal marijuana enterprise in a former Spokane Costco building.
A Spokane Superior Court judge has approved the sale of Growstate One, Paulsen’s indoor marijuana growing operation, and all its equipment to Bing Cannabis, a corporation headquartered in Tukwila with a listed agent as Wenbing Huang. The sale price is $175,000, according to court records.
The courts appointed a third party, known as a receiver, to oversee Growstate after several early investors filed a lawsuit against Paulsen in November 2018. They alleged Paulsen had failed to make payments according to a loan agreement that followed their combined investments of more than $600,000.
Paulsen argued that he’d begun pouring his own money into the venture, which hadn’t been profitable due to an excess of marijuana in the marketplace. He also said he hadn’t had time to find professional legal counsel to fight the loss of his business, licensed to be among the largest producer/processors in Washington’s legal cannabis market.
