Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Compliance Team executed a search warrant in the area of Pine Canyon and Highway 166 with the assistance of wardens from the Department of Fish and Wildlife and agents assigned to the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.
The search warrant was related to an unlicensed outdoor cannabis operation, which was discovered while reviewing past reports and current active cannabis licenses in the county. Through this action, detectives located approximately 4,000 unlicensed and untagged cannabis plants and approximately 200 pounds of dried product.
Without licensing and Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance (METRC) tags, the cannabis derived from this operation would have likely entered the illicit market, undercutting the licensed operators in our county and state, and would circumvent the safeguards in place to ensure consumer safety.
This investigation remains ongoing.
