Siskiyou County Declares Emergency Over Alleged Toxic Pesticide Use at Illegal Cannabis Grows
Multiple greenhouses in Siskiyou County. [Photo posted on the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Facebook page]
In response to escalating threats to public health, first responders, and the environment, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors has unanimously declared a local emergency due to the pervasive use of illegal, foreign-labeled pesticide fumigants at illicit cannabis cultivation sites throughout the unincorporated areas of Siskiyou County.
The resolution cites a disturbing rise in the use of highly toxic and unregistered pesticide products, most of which are labeled in Chinese and imported illegally. These substances, found routinely at illegal grow sites, include dangerous mixtures of insecticides (such as organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, and chlorinated hydrocarbons), fungicides, and herbicides. Many of these chemicals are classified as carcinogens under California’s Proposition 65, toxic air contaminants, or groundwater pollutants.
Certified laboratory testing of these Chinese-labeled fumigants has identified at least twenty-seven separate pesticide compounds. Many of them function as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, attacking the central nervous system in a manner similar to chemical warfare nerve agents.
Since 2023, Siskiyou County has conducted over 176 investigations, uncovering a vast and consistent pattern of illegal pesticide use at cannabis grow sites. According to the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), these hazardous products have been discovered in eighteen counties statewide, with Siskiyou County leading the state in the number, variety, and frequency of occurrences. The pesticide containers lack proper regulatory labeling and safety information, violating both state pesticide laws and federal anti-smuggling statutes.
The County’s emergency declaration directs the formation of a multi-agency emergency response task force, starting at the county level, with requests from state and federal agencies in areas that are outside of the County’s authority and/or beyond the County’s capabilities due to resource issues or lack thereof. In addition to the state and federal agencies who are already assisting the County, such as but not limited to CalEPA, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Law Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who provides law enforcement agencies funding for eradication efforts, the County is calling for investigative assistance from other federal and state agencies, such as the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) Law Enforcement Division. Despite the State of California’s familiarity with the dangerous and destructive illicit cannabis operations in Siskiyou County, the DCC Law Enforcement Division has yet to adequately conduct or support any criminal investigations in Siskiyou County.
“The toxic cocktail of illegal pesticides used during cultivation poses significant environmental and health risks to cultivators, law enforcement, firefighters, and the public. We are battling something far bigger than just an illegally grown plant. This is about environmental destruction, human trafficking, banned chemical fumigants, and transnational organized crime networks operating with impunity across rural America. If we don’t act boldly and get support from the State and Federal partners, the long-term consequences to public health and California’s ecosystems will be irreversible,” said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue
The declaration also directs County departments to initiate a public health outreach campaign to warn residents and property owners about the severe dangers posed by illegal pesticide use. It urges the Governor of California to recognize this as a statewide emergency, requiring broader coordinated action.
To view the County’s proclamation visit: https://www.siskiyoucounty.gov/…/emergencyproclamation…
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Is any of the following involved?
..5.Tractor Supply
6. Ace Hardware, Garden Section
7. Home Depot?
MAGA?
Maybe if the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office had simply done their damn job, and shut down the very first grow (something that one or two deputies could have easily handled) instead of waiting until there were hundreds, this *emergency* could have been avoided.
Like cleaning your toilet; Do it every day and it’s not a big deal. Let it go for years, and cleaning it becomes impossible.
We could say the same thing about any county really.
Western tolerance, an inclusive western mindset, a western distrust of authority, these dispositions allowed all this to develop over the generations.
it’s obvious to anybody who lives in these areas what’s going on and who is doing it.
Some of these drug trafficking networks operated by new immigrants and naturalized out of sync cultures have expanded all over rural America taking over drug economies hippies thought were there’s alone.
immigrants seem to have the least detectable criminal networks and have learned how to operate and exploit the tolerance in America we intended for our own people, not them.
The Western European demographic didn’t build and contribute to the founding of American society so that a foreign society with different values could supplant it.
we contribute to our society because we want what we built and love to endure, not to change.
change is the enemy of tradition, memory and loyalty.
it happens regardless, clearly.
Still, the effort should be to retain multigenerational tradition, not to embrace chaotic multicultural change.
these weed grows are the exact result of social tolerance, economic globalism, and a lack of permanent cultural enforcement
The term I have heard thrown around as a pejorative is ‘low information’. This I feel is inappropriate in as much as there being so many words, thoughts and prayers floating around that it seems the issue is more accurately phrased as inadequate processing, or simply, as my neurologist tells me regarding my situation, ‘bad brains’. A little light reading on the events in this hemisphere during the late 15th through the early and middle 17th centuries should help tune things up. de la Casas, Mary Rowlandson and Jill Lepore are good east reads. Squanto came back from bandage, And Hopkins came back out of maybe bad brains also. As a side joke keep in mind that your guy is the ‘First American born’ of a speciously naturalized immigrant. A gentle shifting of culture could send him back to that other hemisphere, yes/no?
I enjoyed your comment,
Shape shiftingly obscure enough to reveal unique perception
You think human rights are just for US-born whites?
I think the right of American citizens are for American citizens.
we built it, it’s ours
You guys are cute!
What do you think these products are made for? Agriculture. Your food.
You’re getting your panties bunched over: weed
And the unspoken part of the press release, the IMMIGRANT!
drive the rest of the way south along I-5. See all that. Sprayed. Why is Triazimide sold at Ace? For your grandma to spray all around the lawn before your kids head over to play. See that preschool playground in Chico, glyphosate brown all around the fence line…
From this article…”Despite the State of California’s familiarity with the dangerous and destructive illicit cannabis operations in Siskiyou County, the DCC Law Enforcement Division has yet to adequately conduct or support any criminal investigations in Siskiyou County.” Well…Duh…So they won’t just stop doing it on their own? Duh well I dunno then maybe we shoulda done something like oh I don’t know like maybe 15 years ago?! Instead we hammered on mom n pops in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity….Doh!
Where were you when the US Army was establishing martial law on the Lost Coast? Not oppressive enough for you?
They tried for decades until medical passes then the small town politicos got in on it, it wasn’t until the recreational that thr state level for involved tbat our locals got beat out by the state politicos, who it turns out have different allies and partners in crime, less grass roots more international organized types. The more you know…
I find it hard to believe that these Organic Farmers would disregard the health of Mother Earth for profit. It’s almost like they’re just greedy criminals.
The article doesn’t even mention organic farms.
And, in order to be certified organic, they wouldn’t be using any of the chemicals mentioned here.
Your comment makes no sense.
ahh, satire?
Dumb seems more apt.
Yes- too dumb to recognize sarcasm
At what point do we finally point the finger a group of people instead of trying to be politically correct?
Two separate groups of people are constantly doing this shit.
It’s time to say what needs to be said, do what needs to be done, and not feel bad about it.
Like when the Chinese organized crime gangs (cartels) took over parts of Oklahoma but nobody wanted to sound racist by stating the truth? Even when they started gunning each other down? Or when the Laotians blew out massive grows of shitty weed in the Central Valley and ruined the name “Train Wreck”? But no- don’t ever say the truth because then you’re a racist nazi trumper LOL!
Or when the Florida Chad cartel blew up 36, or the ‘Jersey Daves immigrated to Honeydew…
Trainwreck was ruined before it left Arcata, and was renamed Jack Herrer.
Trainwreck and Jack Herer were the same thing?! But ok I get the other part of your comment. All races came here, some foreign…and they all Blew Up and destroyed the scene. Some worse than others. Some whiter than others lol. My comment was in agreement to Big Rick in pointing out that IMO we over-corrected and due to “political correctness” there has been a period where we do not state the race of criminal gangs when it is actually an important part of identifying them. Then the police back off- not wanting to appear “racist”. It’s not good. We should treat everybody equally regardless of race or skin color. And if there are domestic criminal invasions occurring they should be investigated and shut down- whatever their origin. I saw lots of small domestic groups of associates in the greedrush, a few connected to the mafia or biker gangs but nothing in scale like the Mexican and Chinese cartels. And yeah- the Florida Chads sucked but so many greedrushing carpetbaggers from every state….and every GD,Phish, Panic etc tour…
If the products were really the issue, Siskiyou County could try to ban them from shelves. The toxic pesticides found on some grows are a separate issue from the race of the growers. If I were to grossly generalize, I’d say the Lao in Siskiyou are only guilty of assimilating too well. The second and third generation kids all sound like regular Shirt-Tucker-Rodeo-Blackbear Diner-Rednecks.
What racial demographic would start bellyaching if glyphosate were banned on fences in the County? It’s a double standard used to “-but weed bad!”
Many products banned from use on legal weed are sold by the pallet load to soak Californias lawns, and backyards.
What are you talking about? The Chinese pesticides that these illegal grows are using are 100% illegal already. They are being smuggled into the United States and, are being found at Chinese and Hmong operated grows in multiple counties throughout California (licensed and unlicensed grows). You are not even allowed to possess them let alone use them.
I believe it’s called Durban now
After hundreds of posts that are ridiculous you have a point, but still you are only half right. It’s just one group, the Hmong, making a mess out there and in the pines (and a few other spots) and no one should have a hard time calling it what it is.
Memory problems? dang. It doesn’t get better.
Yeah, what you forgot is that the “Pines” was logged, and subdivided into these weird tiny parcels for what? Retirees from Red Bluff to go out and ride 3-wheelers?
The ‘Pines’ grows were pioneered by HSU students.
“No one should have a hard time calling it what it is”…Racist.
Has anyone seen what Americans did to Laos?..to save the Lao so much that they needed to be refugees here?
So you are saying they aren’t almost all Lao there? That is a fact. You are aware enough to understand that more than one thing can be true at the same time? And please, calling me racist says more about you than me.
So…You’re a racist!!!
Sounds like an invasion. Where’s Homeland Security?
Here’s what an invasion looks like:
..every eight minutes, 24 hrs. a day, for nine years.
…and for all of you who would be mad at me for saying the truth of the matter, its your kids that are smoking toxic weed
Chlorinated hydrocarbons. DDT is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. Also polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s). Nasty stuff. I remember as a kid holding my breath and running through the fog when the area was sprayed with DDT. Fun times. I sometimes wonder if it could cause cancer.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/wdm/ddt-and-other-chlorinated-hydrocarbon-pesticides
Funny memories. We used to chase the “fog machines” on our bikes hyperventilating the “fog” in. So much fun! Probably my first high…
Exactly what we used to do. I say ‘we’ but iirc I was the only excitable fool riding my bike 15′ behind the fogger truck. Probably what started me off on a wild 30-year quest to get high.
Biden let all that shit across the border.
Newsom encouraged it to flourish. By doing nothing…
You can buy it online still. Nice try though.
Ever look into the vast amounts of chemicals applied “legally” in northern California?
Did marijuana growers ever cause a tank car full of a chemical sterilant to massive damage the Sacramento River? Oh wait, that was potato growers shipping the chemical fumigant that went into the river at Dunsmuir.
Name specifically results of the “massive damage”?
It turned the river green and killed all the trout, and everything else all the way down into the Sacramento arm of Shasta Lake.
We can all see how you posture all tough and macho like you want to drink the chemicals going to a white guys farm, but get all frail and precious when it’s hinted that a Lao is using the same stuff.
That wasn’t in the syllabus!
Ha!
Southern Pacific Railroad Metam Sodium Spill https://www.cerc.usgs.gov/orda_docs/CaseDetails?ID=946
This is exactly why I always grow my own…No pesticides and all organic.
You get much higher concentrations by eating food from the grocery store.
It’s not like these were just invented for your dope.
Organic just means you paid more
“Corporate” Organic means you paid more. 🙂