Carrot-And-Stick: San Bernardino County's Approach To Rampant Illegal Cannabis Cultivation

San Bernardino County is sponsoring a bill in California’s Legislature that would increase the civil penalty for illegal cannabis cultivation from three to four times the existing license fee.

Assembly Bill 2728, introduced by Thurston Smith (R), would set a series of fines, starting at $500 per plant, up to $2500 for repeated violations. However, if the people fined submit their paperwork and register their business, their license fee would be paid in full and the penalties would be dropped.

Smith represents the Victor Valley area which is dealing with unlawful cannabis cultivation as are many other parts of California.

In February and March, San Bernardino’s Sheriff's Office served several warrant orders and eradicated hundreds of marijuana greenhouses during "Hammer Strike" operation. Police investigations revealed that cannabis cultivations were not in compliance with California's Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) and San Bernardino County's ordinance prohibiting Commercial Cannabis Activity.

According to Supervisor Dawn Rowe, the fines collected will help with the clean-up of the illegal operations and avoid pollution of the local environment by removing debris such as the plastics used to cover the crops, fuel tanks that can leak into the soil, open sewage and even the containers and RV’s where cannabis workers live.

Image Via El Planteo.