SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Authorities in three remote northern California counties joined forces in a raid on marijuana farms, destroying some 15,300 plants, the Eureka Times-Standard said on Wednesday.
The raid targeted the Island Mountain area known as the “Emerald Triangle”, the newspaper said on its website.
The region, some 200 miles (320 km) north of San Francisco, is known to be popular with marijuana growers.
The operation, jointly conducted by the Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity county sheriffs’ departments, is expected to continue through the week with more information expected on Friday, the newspaper said.
California is among twenty-three U.S. states that allow cannabis for medical but not for recreational use. A handful of states, including Colorado and Washington, and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational cannabis use for adults.
The authorities conducting the northern California raids suspected instances of environmental harm at the pot cultivation sites as well as possible cases of water diversion and theft, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.
The California drought has led the state to issue its first-ever mandatory cutbacks, with cities and towns required to reduce water use by 25 percent.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; editing by John Stonestreet)
“… possible cases of water diversion and theft, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.”
Shut down HAARP, and you wouldn’t have that problem.
Destroy CIAs and Big Pharma’s competition.