LANCASTER – Senator Scott Wilk was joined Thursday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on a helicopter tour of the Antelope Valley for a firsthand view of the negative impact of illegal cannabis cultivation sites.
Working to bring more statewide awareness and cooperation to addressing the problem, Wilk and Assemblyman Tom Lackey held a roundtable discussion with the Attorney General where law enforcement, city officials, representatives of water agencies, and the legal cannabis industry expressed their concerns and discussed how best to combat these grows.
“Residents here are facing a unique public safety crisis as a result of large-scale illegal cultivation in our community,” Wilk said. “Not only are our communities less safe, our environment is being poisoned with dangerous chemicals and our limited water is being siphoned away from residents and farmers who are already faced with intense drought restrictions.”
“Last month, I voted for legislation to put some teeth in our fight against these illegal grows. While this legislation is a step in the right direction, the discussion today underscored how much more needs to be done,” Wilk continued.
“Illegal grow sites harm our environment and undermine businesses that do things the right way,” Bonta said. “Together, we’re fighting to stop our waterways from being polluted and pushing back on illegal and unlicensed activity.”
Wilk and Lackey voted in support of Assembly Bill 195, which expands the ability of local officials to go after illegal growers for water theft and water pollution and provides support to the legal cannabis industry through restructuring the cannabis tax code. Law enforcement has eradicated several massive illegal grows in the Antelope Valley, including a raid last summer that resulted in the seizure of more than $1.2 billion worth of cannabis.
“To any of those engaged in illicit cannabis grows, I want you to know we are coming after you,” Lackey said. “You’ve come after our desert and are stealing our water. You’re poisoning our land and enough is enough.”
“We are grateful for today’s discussion and the action that Attorney General Bonta, Senator Wilk, and Assemblymember Lackey are taking on this issue,” said Lancaster Vice Mayor Marvin E. Crist. “Illegal grow operations are raging across our community, harming our law-abiding residents.”
[Information via news release from the office of Senator Scott Wilk.]
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Tim Scott says
Tell us more, but go ahead and grab another beer first.
Iconoclast says
Notice it says “illegal”. These fine gentleman, Vice Mayor Crist, Assemblyman Wacky, State Senator Kiss Ass, and AG Bonta (Mr. AKA soft on criminals) are barking up the wrong tree. Eliminate all weed and the weed factories in Lancaster under the guise of medical weed. So, according to these mental giants, weed is okay, but not in my backyard and it must okayed by Parris and his city council clowns.
Alby says
What really is harming the environment and law-abiding residents are methamphetamine users, dealers and makers. Lancaster police don’t make nearly enough money by busting these scumbags. Lancaster police buddies up with meth users because they along with their relatives and friends are users of this narcotic. It makes them feel stronger and smarter and more aggressive than the laid-back and relaxed happy-go-lucky pot smoker. Lancaster police are subservient to the witty and manipulative minds of meth users. They were probably on meth when they went off storming the weed place just to find a few people sitting on the couch eating cereal and playing videogames. They must have felt like real heroes afterwards within their hypocritical bible belt community and gave themselves employee of the month stickers to show off at the local genius bar. Meth is the real problem, but Lancaster police are too cowardly to deal with the real problem with the same kind of heroism that they have with non-aggressive pot smokers. If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a million times. Lancaster police are cowardly, corrupt sacks of garbage, they are failures to a system that is far greater than they alone will ever be, and I can’t wait to witness a total reform in that good for nothing department.
Alby says
Woh there Rizzo. Don‘t go getting genecidal in your bathroom. Your ipad might fall in the water.
michael hammond says
I ave a Neibor in lake La that is growing a one acre field right behind their house that has been reported but nothing is being done how do we how do we get help under these circumstances when it has been reported ?
ACE says
I JUST CAN’T IMAGINE HOW TERRIBLE THIS MUST BE FOR YOU…
CALL FOR THE LACKEY SWAT TEAM..!
ATTACK FROM ABOVE..!
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ACE says
OUR TWO ELECTED LEADERS MUST BE STUPID – WILK AND LACKEY…
LATELY IT’S MORE HELICOPTER RIDES AND ANOTHER PRESS CONFERENCE AND ARTICLE IN THE AV TIMES TODAY…
SOME ILLEGAL ALIENS THAT DON’T KNOW HOW TO GROW MODERN POT DO IT OUT BY LAKE LOS ANGELES…
WILK AND LACKEY MUSTER THE ENTIRE SHERIFF’S SWAT TEAM RAID ON WHAT THEY CALL THE CARTEL…
TO CATCH NOBODY REALLY AND END UP WITH A BOAT LOAD OF CRAPPY POT NO ONE WOULD EVER BUY…
SOMEONE NEEDS TO CLUE IN WILK AND LACKEY ABOUT HOW POT IS NOW GROWN…
TAKE THEM ON A TOUR OF THE GREEN HOUSES UP IN CARPENTERIA AND SANTA BARBARA WHERE LEGAL NATURAL WEED IS GROWN FOR SALE AT LICENSED DEALERS STATEWIDE…
AND UNDERSTAND WHY YOU CAN’T JUST GROW POT OUT IN THE DESERT OR UP IN THE FOREST THAT HAS THE THC IN IT, THAT MAKES MOST SMOKERS FEEL MELLOW AND GOOD,
THAT PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY BUY…
NOT EVEN THE HOMELESS BUMS WILL SMOKE THE AMOUNT OF THIS BUNK IT TAKES TO GET THEM HIGH…
THE STUFF WILK AND LACKEY ARE SEIZING GROWS WILD IN MUCH OF THE MID WEST AND IS CALLED DITCH WEED BECAUSE IT HAS NO THC…
NO ONE SMOKES IT THERE EITHER YOU TWO…
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PLEASE STOP CONSTANTLY LOOKING SO STUPID IN PUBLIC SCOTT WILK AND SGT. LACKEY…
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THERE’S PLENTY OF REAL AND MORE MORE URGENT LIFE AND DEATH SERIOUS PUBLIC PROBLEMS…
YOU WANT SOMEONE TO LIST THEM FOR YOU..?
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POT IS LEGAL NOW IN CALIFORNIA…
GET OVER IT YOU TWO..!
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ACE says
PURE BALONEY…
FROM TWO DO NOTHING LOSERS WILK AND SGT. LACKEY…
HOW MANY LIVES HAS SGT. RUINED BY ARRESTING THEM FOR POT..?
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EASY ARRESTS BY A ZEALOT…
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NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF SGT. LACKEY…
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WASTING OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT DOLLARS ON THIS..?
WHILE IGNORING ALL ELSE…
SAD REALLY…
SIGH…
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