Marty's Travels

My house has wheels

A Raid in Washington

I’m an advocate of regulated legal marijuana and have been waiting to hear of illegal grows uncovered in the state. Yesterday 50 illegal growing sites were raided in southwestern Washington, yielding 32,000 plants worth $80 million dollars. Chinese nationals were implicated in an organized crime manner.

32,000 plants occupy a bit over an acre of space. A legal “large” grow in Washington is about 2/3 acre, and there are around 400 of them, so it’s not like these busts have any impact on the local markets. Licensed farmers in this area of the state are enjoying great success, with several becoming well-known by their branding and marketing.

The assumption is that the weed goes “to the east coast”, which is likely right because every state and province on the west coast of the continent has more than enough of it’s own illegal pot. I still say Washington doesn’t have a large export crop anyway, so it’s helpful to the effort to get the bad guys out of the picture before harm is done to the good growers, or to the state’s system. I’m hoping to see more of these.