Skillman Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Growing Copious Amounts of Black Market Marijuana

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted April 18, 2025

Xiu Ping Li, 48, of Skillman was sentenced on April 17 to five years in prison for operating "multiple residential marijuana grows" in California, according to a press release from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

A California cannabis task force is cracking down on illegal "cannabis grows" in the state's suburban areas. The governor's office says enforcement actions protect consumer and public safety, safeguard the environment, and deprive illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue

Li yielded more than 8,000 marijuana plants and 21.4 pounds of processed marijuana in illegal "marijuana grows" in Sacramento and Placer counties in California, according to court documents. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris said that Li also got four years of supervised release for the three counts of "manufacturing marijuana."

California law allows residents (ages 21 and up) to grow up to six cannabis plants at home.

A "grow" is defined as an "activity involving the planning, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis (marijuana)." This activity could be inside a structure or outside.

"Almost every US state – even the most liberal – and the federal government considers the cultivation and/or sale of unlicensed marijuana a serious crime that carries felony-level fines and prison time," according to a CNN analysis of data from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Black market cannabis thrives in California despite legalization, according to a recent NPR report.

Police found the copious amounts of marijuana attributed to Li during the execution of search warrants in 2016 and 2017. "Li also acknowledged using proceeds from a marijuana grow to buy another property to continue growing marijuana," according to the press release.

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This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Elk Grove Police Department, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Roger Yang prosecuted the case.

See related press release titled, "Money laundering charges added in international marijuana conspiracy to grow marijuana in Sacramento and Placer Counties houses."