On July 27, 2022, the Oregon State Police’s Southwest Region Drug Enforcement Section team served an illegal marijuana search warrant in Grants Pass, Josephine County.

As a result, 3,114 illegal marijuana plants contained in five large greenhouses were seized, and ultimately destroyed. Three individuals were detained at the scene; one adult male and two juveniles, all of whom have permanent addresses in New York.

Seized during the investigation was one semi-automatic firearm with no serial number.

Additionally, the property is subject to multiple code violations through Josephine County Code Enforcement for human waste, unpermitted structures (greenhouses), and dangerous excavation.

Josephine County say they will move forward with enforcement action against the property owner which could result in the property's closure for one calendar year (illegal drug cultivation) and possible civil forfeiture.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This was after Jackson County Sheriffs and Medford Police busted a black-market marijuana grow seizing approximately 2,748 illegal cannabis plants in seven greenhouses, and 1,000 pounds of processed black-market marijuana. Seven firearms were seized, one having no serial number.

It seems that illegal growers have not been scared out of the state after the 2021 concentration on raids. The December Special Session passed SB 893 and SB 5561 to provide more financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies to address the problem of illegal cannabis.

In 2021, Police in four Southern counties raided illegal marijuana grows uncovering 1,793,029 marijuana plants and 988,768 pounds of processed marijuana with a black market value estimated at $2.78 billion. Compare this with nearly $1.2 billion legally sold marijuana in shops for the entire state in 2021.

Police believe the 2021 busts were only a fraction of the illegal marijuana grows across Southern Oregon. These busts also included confiscating at least 315 guns in Jackson and Josephine counties. In Jackson County, sheriffs found enough fentanyl to kill 16,000 people. Fentanyl is being added to drugs and pain killers. Sheriffs also discovered 134 pounds of butane honey oil, a substance extracted from cannabis through a highly volatile process that started numerous fires in 2021.

The investigation is more difficult because the criminal organizations that are growing illegally are not selling it locally. Most, if not all, are transporting the marijuana to various locations back east where they get a higher profit margin, which makes them dedicated, hardened folks, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous.

Counties report that investigations are open and ongoing with detectives working additional leads.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-07-31 06:57:54

Last Update: 2022-07-31 07:23:14