Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
Cannabis Compliance Team Eradicates Illegal Commercial Cannabis Near Carpinteria
On January 31, 2019, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team concluded a four-month investigation into a local cannabis cultivator, operating under the name of Power Farms LLC, which is located just outside the City of Carpinteria. During this investigation, which spanned two counties and involved three separate search warrants, Detectives discovered one of the owners, whose name is being withheld due to the ongoing investigation, had provided false information during the county cannabis application process and was failing to follow proper shipping and manifest procedures. The owners’s Los Angeles County home, was served with a search warrant. There, Detectives seized several unregistered firearms, two which were reported stolen, as well as approximately 60 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana taken from Power Farms. They also seized thousands of dollars in cash and other items of evidence.
This investigation cul minated in the voluntary surrender of the owner’s state temporary cannabis license, which resulted in detectives from the Cannabis Compliance Team, Special Investigations Bureau, District Attorney’s Office, and Game Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, eradicating and removing illegal cannabis from Power Farms as they no longer had a valid state permit to cultivate or possess commercial cannabis. Approximately 22,420 cannabis plants were eradicated from three separate green houses and approximately 1,420 pounds of dried / drying cannabis were seized.
The Santa Barbara County Cannabis Compliance Team was founded in June of 2018 and consists of personnel from many disciplines within a variety of county departments. The team primarily focuses on unlicensed and illegal cannabis operations within the county and the safety of the public.
Cannabis Compliance Team Discovers Illegal Cannabis Manufacturing While Investigating Neighborhood Complaint
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team conducted an illegal marijuana grow investigation in the 3700 block of Roblar Rd. in Santa Ynez. During this investigation, it became apparent marijuana was being grown on a property near other residences. Following up on neighborhood complaints, led detectives to develop information that resulted in a search warrant being obtained. When they served the search warrant on January 22, 2019, it was determined the subjects were medical marijuana users, but were selling and possessing marijuana and manufacturing marijuana oils and concentrates far above their legal limits and without the required licensing. In addition to the illegal sales and manufacturing case, a three-year-old child was also believed to be exposed to marijuana smoke, processed marijuana and edibles.
Following this investigation, approximately 100 pounds of processed marijuana were seized, along with approximately 76 pounds of marijuana oils/extract and approximately 60 pounds of suspected marijuana edibles that appeared to look like commonly consumed candy. A butane honey oil extraction device was also located, along with several other items used to manufacture and process marijuana and extracts for sales. The County Child Welfare Service responded and the child was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation. Based on the complexity of this investigation and its ongoing nature, no further information will be released at this time.
The Santa Barbara County Cannabis Compliance Team was founded in June of 2018 and consists of personnel from many disciplines within a variety of county departments. The team primarily focuses on unlicensed and illegal cannabis operations within the county and the safety of the public. Following the approval of Proposition 64, recreational marijuana is legal. However, the law requires any person or business selling or providing marijuana to be licensed through the State of California to ensure the sale of approved and tested cannabis products with regulated and identified THC content. Additionally, the County of Santa Barbara requires that cannabis businesses must possess local land use permits and local business licenses if the operations are in the unincorporated parts of the county. More information on the state licensing and testing process can be found on the CalCannabis or Bureau of Cannabis Control websites. For information on local permitting and licensing, please visit cannabis.countyofsb.org.
this is just f’ing wrong. so now the sheriff department are into the business of ruining the economy? because that’s exactly what they are doing. this doesn’t harm kids in school, this isn’t babies in burning buildings…it’s f’n weed.
time to elect a new sheriff…
so let me ask this, do they do the same gestapo like procedure for people growing celery? it’s a cash crop too. No different.
What about alcohol, when they bust a store owner for selling to a minor, do they go in and smash bottles?
i hope they sue. this is over the top
Good. Thanks for enforcing regulations.
You’re leaving out the difference between legal marijuana (which is taxed and tested for pesticides) and illegal marijuana, which is what this effectively is since the owner did not comply with regulations and had their permit revoked. That said, I agree with you that it is INSANE that they destroy product Iike this – this isn’t the low quality weed typical of illegal grows. There should be legislation allowing for seized, QUALITY product to be worked back into the market so that taxes can be made.
I am shocked, SHOCKED, to read about illegal cannabis being grown in Santa Barbara County. Amazing that these people thought they could get away with it.
The legal growers follow all the rules (and it isn’t cheap), this operation didn’t. There have been residents in Carpinteria complaining about the smell of “skunk” . The legal growers here have air scrubbers to combat the smell. The legal ones have been saying it is the illegal growers that don’t scrub causing the problem. Bet this outfit produced a lot of odor.
An “illegal” grow of a legal product? What’s next, craft beer and homemade wine? Shouldn’t the sheriff concentrate on his poor management of the jail?
This is getting RIDICULOUS! So now some faulty paperwork is being used as a loophole to bust what WAS a legal grow until the paperwork was pulled? THIS IS SO MESSED UP! People TRYING to comply are getting railroaded.
Too bad that which was confiscated, could not have been given to the legal growers to process, once it was deemed healthy. That’s a lot of lost tax revenue there.
This Mike Powers operation is quite difficult to find. Pray tell us more.
Raid it. Close it. Destroy it.
Again and Again and Again.
Horsegirl – likely cannabis infused gummy worms. It is a shame they make edibles so often identical to kids’ candy. I am 100% for regulation and responsible use of cannabis, but I wish they could make edibles more “adult.”