Illegal marijuana farms prompt Oregon county to declare state of emergency

 A county in southern Oregon says it's so overwhelmed by an increase in the number and size of illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency Wednesday, appealing to the governor and the Legislature's leaders for help.

Illegal marijuana grows have been a persistent problem throughout the West, even in states like California that have legalized pot. A megadrought across the West has created urgency, though, as illegal growers steal water, depriving legal users including farmers and homeowners of the increasingly precious resource.

Only four Oregon Water Resources Department full-time employees handle complaints and perform all of their other duties in Jackson County and neighboring Josephine County, the commissioners said.

Josephine County has also been hurt by illegal grows that have drained creeks and siphoned off groundwater. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel believes there are hundreds of illegal operations in his county alone. One with 72,000 marijuana plants that was drawing water from the Illinois River was raided after a dying person who worked there was dropped off in a nearby village.

Oregon voters made producing, processing, selling and using recreational marijuana legal in a ballot measure in 2014. Pot businesses must be registered with the state, which enforces compliance with rules. But some growers and processers remain outside the law, joined by a recent influx of outsiders in Jackson and Josephine counties who seek large profits by selling on the black market outside of Oregon while avoiding state taxes and regulations.

About 25% of registered hemp farms refused entry to inspectors, the state agencies said. In busts of illegal marijuana grows, sheriff's deputies have often seized firearms.

By September of this year, the Jackson County Code Enforcement Division initiated almost 700 cases of code violations related to marijuana production or processing, more than double the number in all of 2016, the commissioners said in their emergency declaration.

Reacting to the commissioner's letter, Brown's spokesman, Charles Boyle, said the governor takes these concerns very seriously.

He noted that after the Legislature passed a bill this year that shifted how the state regulates the hemp industry and was aimed at curbing illegal production of cannabis, Brown created a multi-agency team to implement the legislation.

She also authorized doubling the size of cannabis law enforcement grants in the region and directed the Oregon State Police to dedicate additional resources.

"The message is clear - Oregon is not open for business to illegal cannabis grows," Boyle said. "These are criminal enterprises that deplete water resources while our state is in drought, hold their workforce in inhumane conditions and severely harm our legal cannabis marketplace."

The commissioners said their code enforcement staff needs to triple to nine officers; more officers are needed to adjudicate the volume of citations; the sheriff's office needs 34 more staffers, including 18 detectives; and the state Water Resources Department needs three more full-time staff dedicated solely to investigating water-related complaints.

To reach those levels, the commissioners asked for additional state employees, state funding for the county to hire employees and contractors and for a repeal of a prohibition on local taxes on registered, legal marijuana businesses.