Lawsuit Alleges Racial Profiling of Asian-Americans in Cannabis Eradication Efforts
[Stock photo of an indoor cannabis cultivation site provided by MET Humboldt County]
In an article by NBC News, it is alleged that the SMUD routinely released information on customers who had double the average household energy usage. However, the lawsuit alleges that SMUD provided information on high-usage customers but left out customers from predominantly white neighborhoods. It is also alleged that a police analyst filtered out non-Asian names, referring only the Asian-sounding names for further investigation.
Both SMUD and SPD deny any racial profiling and stated that they look forward to clearing up information as the lawsuit goes to trial but is unable to talk about pending litigation.
The NBC article quoted SMUD spokeswoman Lindsay VanLaningham, “We share the information on specific properties to stop what we’ve identified and believe to be power theft and when we are required to do so per local law enforcements’ request to assist them with their investigations.” VanLaningham told the NBC reporter that customer data is treated with care, but state law allows and at times, requires the entity to share data with law enforcement.
Megan Sapigao, co-executive director of the non-profit Asian American Liberation Network was quoted as saying, “[the] mass surveillance program is unlawful, advances harmful stereotypes, and overwhelmingly impacts Asian communities.”
The lawsuit was filed on September 21st. For more information, read NBC’s comprehensive coverage of this:California utility targeted Asians in pot searches, lawsuit says
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These pot farms Destroy the Environment. They divert fish bearing Creeks they over Harvest the Mushrooms to the point of them not coming back the next year.. you can’t enjoy the high Country without taking a gun with you.. they have no toilet Facility garbage they just burn in pits.. I could go on.. it’s in every forest an every Ruel Community ..
The article is about indoor grows in Sacramento, not “rural” areas you make some statements that are a bit shy of the truth. Read up on mushrooms and report back
Yup. Greedy, criminal, garbage. I wish they wouldn’t discriminate and get them all non-permitted of every flavor.
Discrimination is bad. Wrong. And. Are there ethnic ‘gangs’, ‘cartels’ or groups operating in the cannabis industry? Is there ‘conspiracy’ of sorts going on? Or just the good old ‘free market’? So it has been said for decades.
I admit to feeling some consternation when the wave of ‘Bulgarians’ started buying up properties all over, cutting the trees, (allegedly) disregarding the environment, and consistently not participating in the community. Watching them go unscathed through years and years of drug enforcement operations left me wondering who was protecting them.
If ANY person is disrespecting the environment in a significant way, they should be held responsible, whatever their names / ethnicities are.
Pot sure has been hijacked.
It used to be kinda cool to have a few plants.
Now it’s as greedy as Wall Street.
With all of that powdery mildew, the cops did the consumers a favor.
No racial profiling here. Just an attempt to avoid criminal charges after breaking the law.
Asians are white now. Keep up.
There’s no such thing as an “Asian-American”. You’re either American or you ain’t.
If you want a hyphen before American in a descriptor of you, go back to wherever it was you or your family came from and don’t come back until you wanna be an American.
Oh, please.
The endless parsing down of identity until it can unearth a victim of discrimination has left a shambles out of any sense of common cause. Let’s hear it for the American Italian Anti-Defamation League ! Or the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation. Or the Anti German Crusade! Or just the original Anti-Defamation League, which has turned into the If-you’re-not-for-us-you’re-a-racist League. What happens when intersectionality IS the majority? Who decides the DNA percentages that are required to join that club?
Too bad justice is no longer justice if it willy nilly applies to everyone equally. Why justice might in inadvertently break out all over the place!
And what about all the people who are of mixed races?
Interracial marriages have been a thing for quite a while.
Do get to switch victimhood to the flavor of the day?
Well if that’s the case , the authorities should look at folks electric bills in mckinleyville, Trinidad and Westhaven. Plenty of white people dodging taxes, collecting welfare and growing weed up there.
They are criminals. Race is irrelevant.
Then why are the cops ignoring white people doing the exact same thing, and specifically targeting Asians? Did you read the article?
They are harassing the white people too. Anybody who isn’t corporate hast to go. But with the price of pounds going down to $50 it’s not worth even throwing it anymore except for your own stash. Corporate pot sucks
[Edit: Resist, you are already on moderation. The next step is banning. I just went back and looked at recent comments and I can see that some slipped through from others as well. But the remedy is to ask for my help not to break the rules more flagrantly and then do it again to someone else who did not break the rules but merely disagreed with you.]
It’s an allegation, and is unlikely to be proven true. Stop hiding behind ethnic politics, it’s such bs.
Its pretty easy to catch these Hmong Asian gangs once you realize how they work. They usually have a top guy who finances a lot of the properties and puts the people up to work in them. It wouldn’t be hard to trace there names and high energy bills to identify grow ops.
So if an entire town is taken over by Asian gangs, Trinity and Siskiyou County I’m pointing at you, we’re not allowed to say “hey, it looks like the Asians are doing something illegal here” because you’re going to cry racism? So we cant do anything about crime now because “muh racism” ??
Seems like there is a loophole which needs to be filled here.
Yaaaawn! Everyone’s a victim but straight, white males. Nobody’s listening anymore. Boriiiing!
Nonsense. Straight white males have always complained about victimization by women- from child custody issues to women voting. Heck they even created their own words to do it from henpecked, shrew and bimbo to calling women shrill, pushy and hysterical. In fact they do it so routinely there is a special word for men’s routine claims they are victimized. It’s called misogyny. You’re confusing the complaints about men being victims being so common you don’t notice it with it not existing.
Heard any Black rapers on women lately?
Why single out Straight white men?
More irony from Nooo. So, men complaining about child custody is misogynistic? Sounds you are playing the victim. Do you see the irony? Or do you still not know the definition of irony? Because clearly you don’t know the definition of misogyny.
Like I said: boriiing, nobody’s listening anymore.
This story seems so random and extraordinary.
At first glance, it seems preposterous that law enforcement would scan names and addresses and only investigate certain surnames.
But one never knows.
Racial bigots could be embedded who might pull such a stunt.
It’ll be interesting to see how the investigation pans out.