LANE COUNTY, Ore. — An illegal marijuana growing operation in Lane County recently busted up by local authorities serves as a reminder of the larger impact these operations can have on the community.

Besides the illegal plant growing, these operations also often include water code violations and sometimes involve human trafficking, according to Sgt. Tim Wallace, public information officer for the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

Human trafficking is not part of the Lane County bust involving a business named Agricola. However, potential water law violations are being considered in this investigation, investigators said.

“In this particular case, the business was just operating so incredibly far outside of (state regulations), essentially not operating at all under (the law) that it extended to the criminal level,” said Wallace.

On April 3, Lane County Sheriff’s Office deputies with warrants searched six locations tied to an ongoing investigation into Agricola started by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC).

• A greenhouse and residence in the 40300 block of Reuben Leigh, north of Lowell
• A warehouse in the 1400 block of N. 32nd Street, Springfield
• A warehouse in the 4200 block of W. 7th Avenue, Eugene
• A warehouse in the 600 block of Commercial Street, Eugene
• A warehouse in the 200 block of E. Palmer Avenue, Cottage Grove
• A planned dispensary in the 1600 block of Main Street, Springfield

The searches turned up 10,700 marijuana plants, along with several hundred pounds of processed marijuana and marijuana products. There were also other city and water code violations found on the properties, according to a sheriff’s press release.

These investigations by the OLCC along with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office are not new, but rather part of an ongoing effort to curb the illegal marijuana market, officials said.

Wallace said these investigations would not be possible without the ongoing grant funding from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission’s Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Grant, which was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2018, because of staffing limitations at the department.

“There was no enforcement regarding this (illegal marijuana grow operation) for a longtime, and that’s what led to this grant,” said Wallace. “Communities were starting to be victimized by criminal grows.”

Wallace said beyond illegal growing and code violations, while it was not the case in this most recent investigation, detectives often find other criminal activity such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, and stolen firearms.

“These people come up here with promises, promises of pay, promises of how long they’ll work, and it’s often people of low socio-economic status who don’t speak the language, which make them easy to victimize,” explained Wallace, when speaking about human trafficking.

Wallace said when an illegal grow site is shut down, they offer assistance to anyone who may have been victimized by the operators’ resources and help them find their footing.

Regarding water code violations, Wallace said many of these marijuana grows use large amounts of water and electricity, and while they must pay for the electric, the operators are sometimes stealing water from the community.

“Often times for the water, they are not operating in compliance, and that means they are drilling wells that aren’t approved, they are pumping water straight out of rivers, straight out of streams – and so that effects everybody else,” explained Wallace. “Legitimate ranchers, legitimate farmers, who are depending on that water.”

“We’ve even seen some areas of our county where an illegal grow that wasn’t dealt with for several years have actually dropped the water table and residents started to lose water,” added Wallace.

In this most recent investigation, Wallace said several individuals were contacted by deputies and potential charges were sent to the Lane County District Attorney’s Office for review. KVAL News awaits an update on those potential charges.

Wallace added that the investigation into Agricola was assisted by legitimate growers who came forward to share information about the illegal grow sites.

“When you have this other company that isn’t following any of the rules, they’re going to be more profitable, and they’re going to undercut everybody else,” Wallace said. “So … an interesting part of this case is we’ve had legitimate marijuana businesses come forward and offer information or just thanking us for taking time to do this.”

Wallace said if the public ever suspects an illegal growing operation, it can be reported to the OLCC, or people can contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office to share information.