Anyone with information about illegal marijuana cultivation operations in their county neighborhoods or the operations in this release is urged to contact the SCSO’s 24-hour Dispatch Center at (530) 841-2900.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office with the help of allied agencies last Wednesday confiscated more than 3,200 illegal marijuana plants during three raids in the Big Springs and Mt. Shasta Vista areas.

In partnership with the North State Major Investigation Team the SCSO also found starter clones, processed cannabis product, and two handguns, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Two greenhouses were targeted on Jade Avenue in Big Springs, where 739 illegal marijuana plants were seized, along with 240 pounds of processed cannabis product and two handguns, the SCSO reported.

On Starling Road in the Mt. Shasta Vista area, 555 illegal marijuana plants were seized at one location along with 90 pounds of processed cannabis product inside greenhouses. At a second location on Starling, “a large number” of illicit plants were found, many of which were mature.

Processing of illegal cannabis products were evidenced on site by the seizure of 108 pounds of processed marijuana, SCSO said. That site yielded 1,909 illegal marijuana plants and starter clones.

All sites were abandoned at the time of the search warrant operations.

“During the past three weeks, SCSO’s SIMIT and NSMIT have eradicated 8,329 illegal marijuana plants and starter clones in the Big Springs and Mt. Shasta Vista areas of the county,” according to the release. “The 3,203 illegal marijuana plants, based on an average 3-pound yield, could ultimately be worth approximately $9.6 million wholesale and approximately $28.8 million retail on the East Coast illicit drug market. The processed marijuana (438 pounds) could net approximately $438,000 wholesale and approximately $1,314,000 on the retail, East Coast illicit drug market.”

Outdoor marijuana cultivation is not permitted in Siskiyou County and growers are limited to 12 plants inside an approved structure for medical marijuana. Recreational marijuana possession on private property, pursuant to Proposition 64, is limited to six marijuana plants, per parcel, which may be grown in a residence or other approved, enclosed structure.

“The proliferation of illicit marijuana cultivation sites has endangered people, harmed the environment, and promoted a major interstate drug trafficking industry originating from within the county,” according to the SCSO. “Dangers associated with the proliferation of marijuana have proven to be particularly harmful to children and the environment.”

“The illegal marijuana seizures on May 20 indicate we are encountering larger grow sites compared to last year,” said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey, pointing to organized crime groups as being responsible. “Siskiyou County is in a fight for its survival as we combat this major drug trafficking threat to our public health and safety, and ultimately, we are helping to protect countless communities throughout the nation that suffer the impacts of these illicit drug products, which eventually pour into their schools and onto their streets.”

Lopey thanked SIMIT and NSMIT members as well as the California Department of Justice, the U.S. Forest Service, Etna Police Department, Siskiyou County Planning Department, SCSO’s Property/Evidence team, and the California Army National Guard’s Counter-Drug Unit for assisting with the operations.

SCSO has received “invaluable assistance and support” from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Lopey said, which has provided most of the funding for the department’s counter-drug operations through the Domestic Cannabis Eradication Support Program.

Anyone with information about illegal marijuana cultivation operations in their county neighborhoods or the operations in this release is urged to contact the SCSO’s 24-hour Dispatch Center at (530) 841-2900.

Complaints concerning quality of life issues such as building, water, sewage, or refuse may be directed to the Siskiyou County Community Development office at (530) 841-2100.