3,000 Pounds of Marijuana Seized in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Portland today said that they busted an illegal marijuana cultivation operation in a warehouse on Friday of last week. Law enforcement seized at least 500 marijuana plants from a warehouse located on SE 111th Avenue. Portland police said that they became aware of the illegal operation after they received a tip from an anonymous source.
At least 3,000 pounds of pot were removed from the warehouse where 16 people were working to dry the marijuana plants and get them ready for sale. Officials from the Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division said that the people working inside the warehouse stated that they were currently in the process of getting their cultivation licenses from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. They also claimed that they had applied for a recreational marijuana license from the commission. However, officials said that no such license was given or applied for. The current marijuana law in Oregon permits a maximum of 30 marijuana plants.
The Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Chris Burley told reporters in a press release on Tuesday that law enforcement officials were given patient documents that indicated an illegal operation may be at the warehouse. The plants were being grown for patients under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Officials also said that it appeared from the documents that five patients were being treated from the warehouse operation. That would be about 100 plants per patient, approximately 94 plants more per patient than the amount permitted in Oregon.
Although the marijuana plants were seized by law enforcement, no arrests were made at the warehouse during Friday’s raid. The Multnomah County District Attorney is monitoring the case and will decide whether or not to prosecute the individuals found working in the warehouse. Hopefully, the DA decides not to prosecute theses non-violent offenders.
