Merced County deputies raid 13 marijuana cultivation sites, medical dispensary

Raids in the last two weeks by the Merced County Sheriff’s Department have busted several marijuana operations in the county, including a medical marijuana dispensary in Atwater on Friday, officials said.

During two days of raids spanning the last 10 days, Sgt. Ray Framstad said the sheriff’s office eradicated 13 marijuana grow sites, confiscated 12,197 plants and recovered 205 pounds of processed marijuana.

Investigators also recovered one assault rifle, Framstad said.

One raid Friday yielded up to 5,700 confiscated marijuana plants on the 16000 block of Moraga Road in the Los Banos area, Framstad said.

Numerous arrests were made and citations issued, Framstad said. Reports are being forwarded to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office to file charges.

Another raid Friday shut down the Goodfellas Medical Collective Clinic at 3600 Atwater Road in Atwater.

About $20,000 worth of concentrated marijuana, oils, edibles and other forms were confiscated, Framstad said, adding that more than 60 plants were also seized.

The owner of the establishment was cited for operating a medical marijuana dispensary without a proper license, Framstad said, adding the clinic was operating under a holistic health license.

Framstad noted that the county doesn’t allow medical marijuana dispensaries at all.

“We’ve got regulations in place for people to legally grow medical marijuana,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said of the raids. “Yet folks out there still feel compelled to violate the rules.”

Paul Canto, who identified himself as the owner of Goodfellas, said the sheriff’s deputies who confiscated his product were polite and respectful during the raid. But he felt he did everything necessary to follow the law.

“I’m registered with the State of California and all my business was in order,” he said, adding that he made it clear that his business involved medicinal marijuana sales.

Canto, who said he uses marijuana medicinally, claims he has been helping patients heal through marijuana, including some with cancer who don’t have too long to live.

Warnke shot down the argument that what he called “snake oil” could be of any medicinal use, equating medicinal marijuana vendors to the fake-medicine dealers of old who would sell alcohol rebranded as medicine.

However, Warnke said he understands that Merced County voters were barely in favor of Prop 64.

Warnke and Framstad said the main goal of the raids is to inform and educate growers about the law concerning marijuana cultivation.

Those laws include allowing up to 12 plants to be grown at one time for personal medical use. Six plants are allowed for recreational use.

However, under no circumstances can marijuana be grown for the intent to sell.

Warnke said his office is planning more raids on targeted sites in the near future.

The Merced County Board of Supervisors mulled adjusting policies on recreational and medicinal marijuana Tuesday to pave the way for cultivation centers and dispensaries following the state passage of Prop 64, which also passed in the county with 51.48 percent of voters.

During that meeting, Warnke told the board, “I want you to know that, as your sheriff, I don’t want it, and I’ll do everything I can to protect the ag industry against this.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Merced County deputies raid 13 marijuana cultivation sites, medical dispensary."