California Cannabis Updates

Three Detained in Illegal Marijuana Grow in San Diego County with 600 Marijuana Plants, Psylocibin Mushrooms, and Hashish Seized

Published

2 years ago

February 27, 2023

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February 25, 2023 – San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials report that on Wednesday, February 22 around 3:00 p.m., members of the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Detail (SED/SWAT) served a narcotics-related search warrant in the 10000 block of Via Patricio in Valley Center.

The warrant was part of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET). Three adults were detained during warrant service.

As a result of warrant service, the following seizures were made:

600 live marijuana plants
Approximately 2 pounds of processed marijuana
Approximately 9 pounds of concentrated cannabis
Approximately 15 grams of psylocibin mushrooms
Approximately one-half pound of hashish

The estimated street value of the seizure is about $675,000. A large-scale water-based THC extraction operation was discovered at the property. A criminal complaint will be filed with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Assisting specialized investigators are conducting independent, parallel investigations within their fields of expertise.

Illegal marijuana cultivation has many negative impacts on the surrounding community and environment. To provide the most effective service to the surrounding community, MET requested assistance from specialized investigators including California Fish and Wildlife’s Cannabis Enforcement Program, San Diego County Code Compliance, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and California State Water Resources Control Board’s Agriculture and Cannabis Section. Each specialized investigator plays a key role in ensuring illegal marijuana cultivation doesn’t negatively impact our communities.

San Diego County Code Compliance assists by ensuring any physical safety hazards present on the property are mitigated. All too often, structures used for illegal marijuana cultivation operations are haphazardly constructed, ignoring industry safety standards and posing significant hazards to anyone working in the facilities. In this instance, Code Compliance Officers noted numerous hazards, both structurally and electrically, resulting in San Diego Gas and Electric being requested to cut power to all structures on the property until the entirety of the property is permitted and can pass building inspection.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) is committed to enforcing cannabis laws to hold individuals and businesses accountable for taxes owed to the state. In cooperation with law enforcement partners, CDTFA is combating underground economic activities associated with illegal cannabis businesses. This effort removes illicit cannabis products that pose health and safety risks, deters others from similar crimes and recovers revenue to fund vital public programs.

The State Water Resources Control Board and nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards, collectively known as the Water Boards, are one of the state agencies that regulate the commercial cultivation of cannabis. The role of the Water Boards and purpose of the Cannabis Cultivation Policy and General Order is to minimize and mitigate the negative effects to water quality from cannabis cultivation activities, including the diversion of water and discharge of wastes that could impact waters of the State of California. Unpermitted cultivations and the land development associated with the cultivation, without engineered controls and containment, may discharge wastes, such as excess fertilizers, pesticides, sediment, and litter that adversely impact our streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes, and groundwater aquifers.

The warrant follows community concerns about illegal marijuana operations near schools and residential areas. We want to assure those we serve know the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is listening to the community and recognizes the negative impact illegal marijuana grows have on our neighborhoods.

Source: https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/california/44030-three-detained-in-illegal-marijuana-grow-in-san-diego-county-with-600-marijuana-plants-psylocibin-mushrooms-and-hashish-seized

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California Cannabis Updates

Not Very Beat! Don’t Expect A Espresso or Piece Of Cake At A Cannabis Cafe In San Francisco

Published

2 weeks ago

January 12, 2025

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The simplest way to turn cannabis cafes into mini ghettos that give cashed up gentrifiers an opportunity to complain is this…

SF Gate has the story

Don’t expect to buy a latte and smoke a joint inside a San Francisco cannabis cafe anytime soon.

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s legalizing cannabis cafes and a statewide law going into effect last week that allows cannabis lounges to sell food and drinks, San Francisco’s pot lounges are still unable to prepare food. The city told SFGATE this week that there’s no estimate for when they will be able to do so.

The disconnect is due to the fact that while cannabis cafes are legal at the state level, city law still prohibits pot lounges in San Francisco from selling prepared food like a sandwich or an espresso.

The consumption lounge at the Vapor Room, a cannabis dispensary on Ninth Street just south of Market Street, in San Francisco, on Dec. 4, 2024.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Assemblymember Matt Haney, the San Francisco Democrat who introduced the cannabis cafe bill in the California Legislature, told SFGATE he thought the city government would have been prepared to allow pot cafes to open up in SF after the state cleared the way.

“I honestly thought that was their plan, so I’m a little surprised that they’re not immediately ready to roll this out. It’s a bigger opportunity for San Francisco than maybe anywhere else in the state,” Haney said.

San Francisco has at least eight approved cannabis lounges, where customers can purchase and smoke cannabis. State law has historically prohibited these lounges from selling any food or drinks, but Haney’s bill lifts that statewide prohibition and allows the lounges to prepare food as long as they have local approval.

Rose Harless lights a marijuana joint at the Vapor Room, a cannabis dispensary on Ninth Street just south of Market Street, in San Francisco on Dec. 4, 2024.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Angela Yip, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Office of Cannabis, said city departments are “continuing to work together internally to streamline local implementation of the state law” and directed further questions to the city Department of Public Health. A health department spokesperson who declined to be named told SFGATE by email that the department is working on developing requirements but declined to estimate when those rules would be released.

Haney’s bill is modeled on the cannabis cafes that are popular in Amsterdam, where people can purchase and enjoy coffee, food and cannabis within the same restaurant. Cannabis lounges are rarely legal in America, and the new law makes California one of the only places in the country where businesses can legally serve food to customers who are also smoking marijuana. While San Francisco delays allowing lounges to sell food, cannabis cafes are up and running in other California cities like West Hollywood and Coachella.

Haney was inspired to legalize cannabis cafes after visiting such establishments in Thailand and the Netherlands, where he said the cafes were enjoyable social experiences. The lawmaker said it would be a “huge missed opportunity” if San Francisco didn’t take advantage of the new cannabis cafe law.

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California Cannabis Updates

August 23 2024: Department of Cannabis Control Files Emergency Rulemaking Action to Readopt Cultivation License Changes pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 26061.5

Published

5 months ago

August 24, 2024

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Department of Cannabis Control Files Emergency Rulemaking Action to Readopt Cultivation License Changes pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 26061.5

August 23, 2024

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has filed an action with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to readopt its emergency regulations implementing Senate Bill 833, codified in Business and Professions Code section 26061.5, which requires the DCC to allow cultivation licensees to make certain changes including: change the type of size of a cultivation license; place a cultivation license in inactive status; or make a one-time change to a cultivation license’s date of renewal.

View the proposed finding of emergency and notice of proposed adoption and the proposed text of emergency regulations below:

The five-calendar day public comment period for this emergency action starts once OAL posts notice of the filing on its website. Emergency regulations under review by OAL can be found on its Emergency Regulation’s Under Review webpage.

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California Cannabis Updates

Oakland police seize banned tobacco products, psilocybin candy bars from smoke shop

Published

7 months ago

July 13, 2024

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Oakland police are investigating an unlicensed smoke shop in East Oakland where officers seized several illegal products earlier this week, including cartons of banned tobacco products from out of state and nearly 10 pounds of marijuana bud.

Police on Wednesday confiscated other items at the shop in the 2500 block of Seminary Avenue that included Psilocybin “magic” mushroom candy bars and close to 20 pounds of suspected THC products.

Officers with the police department’s Alcohol Beverage Action Team were following up on anonymous complaints about the shop. In addition to seizing illegal items, they detained a store clerk.

No arrests were made, but the case will be forwarded to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office for further action, including civil charges and potential eviction, police said in a news release on Thursday.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/east-oakland-smoke-shop-bust-illegal-tobacco-marijuana-mushrooms-thc-seminary-avenue/

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