On Wednesday, October 26th, 2022, detectives with the Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement team and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded an investigation involving a mother and son that is alleged to be growing and processing illicit marijuana in La Pine, Oregon, before delivering it around the Pacific Northwest.
This case began with community complaints and tips of the two operating a large-scale marijuana grow in a residential area of La Pine.
The Deschutes County Illicit Marijuana Enforcement Team requested the assistance of the Central Oregon Drug Team to further their investigation. As a result, CODE and DCIME detectives, drug agents, and intelligence analysts conducted physical and electronic surveillance. As a result, the Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement team confirmed the family built un-permitted structures and converted others into indoor marijuana grow facilities.
On October 26th, 2022, at approximately 10:00 AM, CODE and DCIME detectives, with the assistance of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit, executed a Search Warrant on the 52500 block of Day Road.
During the search warrant, 160 lbs. of processed marijuana flower, 474 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, and two firearms were seized. The estimated street value of the black-market processed marijuana flower is $160,000.
The possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal for recreational use in Oregon. However, large, unlicensed marijuana operations remain illegal. These unregulated operations pose dangers to the public and the environment.
This commercial grow operation was located in a rural residential area of Deschutes County. Most of this area’s residents depend on the ground or well water for their households and own agricultural ventures. In March 2022, Governor Brown declared Deschutes County to be in extreme drought conditions and struggling with consistent groundwater sources.
It is estimated that indoor marijuana cultivation uses between 2.5 and 3.0 gallons per day per plant. That equals about 1,500 gallons per day or 45,000 gallons of water per month at this grow site alone. The US Department of Interior and the USGS estimate that an average person uses 3,000 gallons of water monthly, so a family of 4 would use 12,000 gallons for bathing, cooking, washing, recreation, and watering.
Investigators have recently found illegal marijuana grows diverted or stolen significant water from nearby homes, farms, or directly from pumps connected to underground sources in the arid central Oregon high desert. It appears that this grow site was exclusively using ground or well water. Additionally, illegal marijuana farms often use pesticides and insecticides that threaten residential water supplies and endanger the end user.
The Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement (DCIME) program is a partnership between the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the Bend Police Department, and the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office to address illegal marijuana activity in Deschutes County.
CODE and DCIME assisted the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Street Crime Unit with investigating, eradicating, and dismantling this site.
