SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Team 10 senior investigator Jim Avila took a deep dive into the dangers of marijuana to young children earlier this year, and Tuesday, he attended a court hearing for a family accused of having a massive stash of marijuana in the home where they live with their children.
It looks like any other house on the block, but the San Diego Police Department and the District Attorney's Office said it's the first of many in the state busted for allegedly selling unregulated, unlicensed marijuana.
In the preliminary hearing for the husband and wife who own the home, prosecutors said the house was filled with thousands of edibles, including gummies, peanut butter and beef jerky, and 300 pounds of loose marijuana all ready for sale. Prosecutors also said the drugs were open and accessible to the couple's three young children.
"My reviews of the photos of the case were significant to come to my opinion because it was very clear that cannabis products were in easy reach of children," says Dr. Natalie Laub, a pediatrician who spoke during the hearing.
The couple is charged with child endangerment as well.
Earlier this year, Team 10 revealed the dangers of marijuana to children: 120 were hospitalized so far in 2024 for ingesting edibles, mostly gummies, left around parents' homes.
During Tuesday's hearing, the defense argued the couple, Jose Delahoz and Valerie Rafa, were legitimate marijuana dealers who just had not gotten their state license yet.
"Our clients were never given notice as they were in the process of getting licensed, and they just came, searched
the residence, seized the products and charged them," the defense attorney said.
Separate from the hearing, the state attorney general announced the seizure of nearly 775,000 cannabis plants and 106,000 pounds of illegally grown loose cannabis at multiple sites across California, seven of which are in San Diego.
The marijuana gathered in the statewide busts amounted to a value of $353 million.
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