20 Tons of Cannabis Seized During Four-Day Raid

A team of 35 law enforcement officials led by the County Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team spent four days last week eradicating 350,000 cannabis plants from a licensed grow in Buellton on Highway 246 and seizing 20 tons of processed cannabis product. The high-profile raid took place as the political temperature surrounding cannabis in Santa Barbara County has achieved new heights. Sergeant Frank Vasquez, who leads the Cannabis Compliance Team, was closed-mouthed regarding details, suggesting only that further enforcement actions might follow.

The property in question is owned by Luis Cisneros and Cisneros Future LLC. Calls to Cisneros and his attorney have not been returned. Cisneros has not been arrested, and no charges have been filed. According to the statement released by the Sheriff’s Office, the raid culminated a two-month investigation into whether Cisneros obtained his temporary and provisional cultivation licenses for this operation from the state by fraudulent means. In the context of licensed cannabis operations, that fraud typically involves perjury, or lying about how long one has been cultivating marijuana.

Under rules adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in 2018, growers cultivating medicinal marijuana prior to January 19, 2016, would be afforded “legal nonconforming status” if they signed affidavits stating that was the case. County administrators opted not to check the veracity of these statements, explaining they lacked the staff to do so.