CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - This week Chula Vista Police shut down yet another illegal cannabis dispensary, an ongoing problem that's grown in recent years.
While the city doesn't allow any cannabis sales at the moment, police believe there's roughly a dozen or more operating illegally in the city.
“One of the challenges with unlicensed, illegal cannabis business is that they move and they change. The number of facilities is always changing, the location of facilities changes quite frequently," said Captain Phil Collum.
Captain Collum says their most recent bust was one of the most egregious cases he's seen, from the number of cannabis products to security measures.
“I was standing inside the facility and was shocked at what they had done," said Collum. "The windows were sealed shut with metal plating; the front door was actually, had a welded security grate that was locked closed, it had pretty much sealed off any emergency evacuation routes to this facility.”
He says if there were a fire or sudden emergency in the building people could have been trapped.
Captain Collum said they were alerted to the illegal operation by neighbor complaints.
"It’s so important that community contact us and let us know where they believe an illegal cannabis for marijuana business might be located.”
Chula Vista PD partnered with Chula Vista's Office of the City Attorney and the Code Enforcement Department to serve a civil abatement warrant for the illegal cannabis dispensary.
“I’m not frustrated with the process, what’s frustrating quite honestly is people are taking advantage of our community.”
Captain Collum urges the public to continue notifying authorities when they spot illegal businesses popping up in the city.
