Man pleads guilty to illegal cannabis cultivation in Monterey County federal case.

Monterey County Now ^ | December 24, 2023 | Katie Rodriguez

[artichokegrower]

Nestled within the wooded ridgelines and folds of Big Sur, a man set up shop to build a large-scale, illegal cannabis operation in the Los Padres National Forest.

On Dec. 17, the man, Jacinto Correa Cruz, a 56-year-old Mexican national, pleaded guilty in federal court to destroying this land in pursuit of manufacturing and distributing marijuana plants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

[artichokegrower]

An environmental damage assessment found that the illegal operation—which consisted of six cultivation sites—diverted and used approximately 33,780 gallons of water a day in an area that was experiencing severe drought conditions. Additionally, it was found to be contaminated with several pesticides, many of which are banned or severely restricted.

Hey you lefty California democrats illegal aliens are destroying the environment of you sanctuary state

[V_TWIN]

“a 56-year-old Mexican national”

I think I found the problem

[No name given]

And he’s in Commiefornia, which is a very big blue sanctuary state. It’s not so surprising really.

[Bon of Babble]

The state doesn’t like competition when it comes to pot sales - they want to keep it all for themselves, and legal pot is heavily taxed.

Illegals are also systematically destroying the delicate desert fauna at the southern border - the Sierra Club has been bought off and looks the other way, as does the state. The democrats need the illegals for the votes.

[DouglasKC]

Now that pot is defacto legal everywhere you had better not grow your own. The cartels control the industry legally now and the politicians can openly back them and enforce laws to help them.

[TexasGator]

It was in a national forest.

[TexasGator]

The US government is noting the pot business.

[VanShuyten]

Which cartel set up his operation?

[ptsal]

Bkmk

[DouglasKC]

It was in a national forest

That's my point. I don't remember ever hearing about a case where weaponize encionmental regulations to go after pot growers. They're pretty upfront in the article about the real reason they went after him.

"Illegal grow operations are not new to the area and pose not only environmental challenges but also threatens legal cannabis revenue."