At a time when legalized cannabis sales are on the rise nationally, Oregon State Police last week seized £500,000 (about 226,800 kilograms) of illegal marijuana in a bust outside Medford, Ore. , which they estimate has a street value of $500 million, police said.
Oregon State Police’s Southwest Area Narcotics Police (OSP) team served a search warrant Thursday at five industrial-scale warehouses in White City, Ore., police said.
Under Oregon law, adults 21 years of age and older can use marijuana within regulatory limits, but it’s illegal to produce marijuana without a license. Oregon legalized recreational marijuana in 2015.
In the bankruptcy case last week, police said the OSP, the Drug Enforcement Administration and officers from local law enforcement seized a large cache of marijuana and a firearm in the car. two days.
“This is a very involved investigation and will take place over several weeks,” the OSP said in a press release.
OSP said investigators found that several individuals at the depots – who were initially detained, identified, interviewed and released – were migrant workers living in the area. Police call the living conditions “subpar” and note that they lack running water.
The seizure comes at a time when legalized cannabis is in full bloom.
Sales to hit $20 billion in 2020, are on track to grow to $26 billion this year, and are expected to take a pre-emptive shortcut to $45.9 billion by 2025, according to data from Marijuana Business Daily shared at MJBizCon, the industry’s annual trade show.
Chris Walsh, chief executive officer and president of MJBizDaily, said the nearly $46 billion in sales would make the cannabis industry bigger than the craft beer industry.
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