SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon district attorney announced criminal charges arising from an illegal marijuana growing operation, which sheriff’s deputies stumbled across while searching for something else.
Such sites have flourished in Deschutes County, Oregon’s fastest-growing county which sprawls over high desert and the snowy peaks of the Cascade Range.
But officials say they often can’t tell whether medical marijuana grow sites are legal or illegal because of a lack of information from the Oregon Health Authority, which regulates medical marijuana.
The case comes as federal officials have warned states, including Oregon, where pot is legal that they aren’t doing enough to prevent diversion to the black market.
District Attorney John Hummel says a La Pine, Oregon, man is charged with unlawful manufacture of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana.