Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
On October 15, 2018, Sheriff’s detectives assigned to the Special Investigations Bureau served a search warrant on a suspected illegal marijuana cultivation site in the 3100 block of Avena Rd. in the Cebada Canyon area. The cultivation site did not possess the necessary license from the State of California to cultivate legally.
The property included numerous “hoop houses” that were built to cultivate several thousand marijuana plants. When detectives served the search warrant and secured the property, they discovered that the operators of the cultivation site had just recently harvested the plants in the last week and had transported the product from the plants off the property. During the search, detectives did find 1,423 younger plants that were not ready for harvest at this time. These plants were destroyed. The value of these plants if allowed to mature was estimated at $711,000.
While eradicating the plants, detectives interviewed the owner of the cultivation operation and will be conducting further investigation and forwarding the information to the District Attorney’s office for consideration of a criminal complaint.
The Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team will continue to identify and investigate illegal marijuana cultivation sites within the county. The goal of the team is to stop the illegal cultivation of marijuana and prevent the environmental crimes associated with these illegal grows.
Come on SB City Council… they won’t issue more permits so growers grow/transport across city lines. Why don’t they want the potential income from the taxes or permit fees, but you’ll allow illegal Airbnb’swho don’t pay bed tax. Coastal Dispensary had supported/sold from illegal grows, can’t support them.
Everyone living in this area knows about all these illegal grow areas and this has been going on for about 10 years. Friends who had lived in Cebada Canyon for decades sold and moved out because of all the illegal activities out there. They feared for their safety because of all the coming/going of some pretty shady characters.
Good job Sheriff’s Dept… There are probably a couple hundred more of these grows with nefarious opportunists all over the County, Nail them!
I don’t have a dog in this race, so I’m amused that now it’s legal to grow with government fees and scanction (and one of our politicians has acreage) that these long-time unlicensed sources are being shut down at a faster clip. Curious: Are they hitting the low-lying fruit or going after the Mexican plots deep in the forest too?
It will take years to unravel the propaganda and indoctrination that these LEO have been fed. Just a few years ago, they’d put on their best army costume, rack up their freshly oiled assault rifles, warm up the tanks and the copters, and raid your neighbors at 4am in order to assure the maximum fear. But with weed now legal, they’re having a tough time letting go of their war games, their onerous displays of force and the sheer fun they get from dressing up in military costumes and playing war. All so that a few pounds of weed are eradicated from the free market… And the grant money, let’s not forget the grant money. To many these days, these LEO are not heroes, they’re meatheads with assault weapons and total impunity doing what goons do. Maybe they can start using their SWAT training and weapons on eradicating the scourge of AirBnB and neighborhood RV parking now since weed’s become so pedestrian? I say “nice work Brownie, you’re doin a heck of a job”. Thanks for keeping the dispensaries’ supply-chain safe and taxable!
It doesn’t seem fair the legal growers have to pay incredible amounts of money for all the permits, taxes, etc and so of course illegal grows need to be rid of. Totally unfair competition.
There are ways of doing a growing operation of this size and scale legally – the city / county has a process that allows you to do so, if you follow through the hoops of said process. LEO’s aren’t looking for someone growing a few plants in their backyard, or who may be medically exempt from plant limits. This size and scale of a grow wouldn’t fall under that category, even with medial plant limit exemption, and I highly doubt these growers are doing it for the medical community. LEO’s know what’s what.
I see the normal hysteria about a plant that God created is happening again. Be it legal or illegal grows. Garbage weed or top notch weed. I just simply miss the days of going to a buddies house and buying a bag. Legalization has actually been a burden to the working class that now get tested throughout the year because of this new market. It’s a plant people! Not methamphetamine!
Enjoyed the giggle.
Hey Sheriff Brown has to justify his helicopter somehow. When he’s not screwing up emergency notifications or working his custody deputies on mandatory overtime because he can’t mange his budget. And the voters re-elected him so go figure.
That’s why they’re going to develop tests to detect if the driver is impaired or not. The longest the effects last is 6-8 hours. Usually far less than that.
Who said anything about during under the influence Matt? That’s different. If one chooses to smoke in their off duty time and is sober at work it’s no different than drinking alcohol at home. Get with the times
this is a HUGE waste of resources and our tax dollars. I personally do not approve of the local law enforcement, enforcing FEDERAL laws by destroying or stealing someones PLANTS. yes that is all they are…just plants with flowers. FFS this is annoying and too much. Brown needs to get his head out of his rear and start doing real work for the community, not wasting efforts and breaking down doors to destroy someones weed plants. Over the f’ing top…
These grows are a huge waste to our economy. Not enough people now to fill jobs. Not enough truckers. No company wants a stoned trucker. It doesn’t cure anything. It obfuscates. Grows are feeding the problems directly. Dragging our country down.
Your nerve cells have cannibinoid receptors, which work with a lock and key concept to receive cannibinoids. Your body was built to receive cannabis, go ahead, Google it.