A Jackson County, Oregon task force focused on untaxed marijuana seized more than 1 million pounds of Cannabis bound for the underground economy last year, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives from the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET) worked 145 cases in 2021, reports KDRV. They served 57 search warrants, and made 60 arrests over the year. Those cases resulted in the seizure of more than a million pounds of marijuana.
Officers also nabbed several pounds of other drugs, 158 guns, and more than $2.3 million in cash.
The overall marijuana seizures included almost 650,000 live plants. They also included more than 70,000 pounds of processed cannabis “ready for sale.”
The Sheriff’s Office estimated a total value of $30 million.
Bounteous BHO and Concentrates Seized As Well
Jackson County investigators also found 134 pounds of butane hash oil (BHO). The BHO process extracts THC and other cannabinoids from marijuana through a “highly volatile” process. If mismanaged, the extraction process can result in explosions and fires.
Also seized were five pounds of “liquid THC,” almost 53 gallons of “marijuana concentrate,” and 5 gallons of “cannabinoid extract.”
Now, all three of those terms can mean basically the same thing. So we aren’t exactly sure how the sometimes clueless law enforcement officers differentiated between them.
Cocaine, Meth, Heroin, Psilocybin, LSD Nabbed
Also seized were more than a pound of cocaine, 14 pounds of methamphetamines, and more than two pounds of heroin.
Investigators also seized psychedelics: more than three pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and 551 doses of LSD.
“Investigators also uncovered enough fentanyl to kill more than 16 thousand people; seizing nearly 33 grams with a lethal dose estimated to be around two milligrams,” the Sheriff’s Office claimed. (Law enforcement continues to be fond of measuring fentanyl by the numbers of people it “could kill.” That’s because the gram amounts sound so inconsequentially tiny.)
“The Team Is Looking To Increase Illegal Marijuana Enforcement”
IMET is made up of personnel from the Sheriff’s Office, the Medford Police Department, and the Jackson County District Attorney’s office. It’s funded through a grant from something called the “Oregon Justice Commission.”
The practical, real-world effect of their efforts, of course, is to protect the legal monopoly of licensed marijuana retailers. They achieve this by arresting their competition.
“This upcoming year, the team is looking to increase illegal marijuana enforcement through additional state allocated funds,” the Sheriff’s Office crowed. “The team is optimistic that this potential additional funding will be a substantial help in diminishing the black-market marijuana problem in the Rogue Valley.”
