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SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. -- Police discovered 4,400 pounds of marijuana after a police officer pulled over a 43-year-old driver from Hollywood, CA for ignoring a stop sign and almost crashing into a semi truck on State Route 97.
According to a Facebook post from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, the driver -- Luis Fernando Gutierres Rojas -- apologized for the near-accident and then opened the truck to reveal the marijuana, which he bought from illegal sites in the Shasta Vista area.
"None of the cannabis had the proper labeling as required by the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), which allows dispensaries to verify that the product is legally and safely produced, and permitted for commercial sale," the post said. "Through further conversation it was revealed that this cannabis was headed to a licensed Los Angeles area dispensary, for which Rojas worked. Also discovered in the vehicle was a backpack with approximately $16,000 in cash, and a notebook documenting previous cannabis purchases."
Rojas was cited for violating the California Health and Safety Code, the post said.
"This discovery is emblematic of a trend we are seeing in Siskiyou County, where licensed dispensaries are buying illegally grown marijuana from the Mount Shasta Vista and Butte Valley areas," the post said. "Marijuana grown in these locations is often treated with unregulated, and highly toxic pesticides that are banned in California. When marijuana is grown illegally, like we predominately see in the Siskiyou County, cultivators may not adhere to the same health and safety regulations that legal growers are subject to, and as a result their products can be highly toxic."
