Adelanto Marijuana Business Served Warrant by Sheriff Investigators

Staff Writer

Thursday, November 30th, 2017

ADELANTO – A search warrant was issued at Lifestyles Delivery Systems (LDS) Inc. in an industrial area in the City of Adelanto on Thursday morning.

At around 10:00 a.m. deputies with the Sheriff’s Narcotics Division – Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at the business located at 9501 Commerce Way in the City of Adelanto. The search warrant was obtained when investigators learned that the employees were operating a concentrated cannabis lab at the location.

Initially, upon inspection of the facility deputies believed that the business may have been operating a methamphetamine lab, but the lab was later determined to be a concentrated manufacturing lab. LDS is under construction in preparation for commercial marijuana cultivation and manufacturing. “Throughout the initial stages of the investigation, investigators have been in contact with the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) regarding state laws pertaining to marijuana businesses and licensing,” Sheriff’s officials said in the news release. “The Bureau of Cannabis Control is the lead agency in developing regulations for medical and adult-use cannabis in California and is responsible for licensing retailers, distributors, testing labs, and microbusinesses. Bureau of Cannabis Control officials confirmed to date no applications have been accepted and no licenses have been issued to any marijuana businesses in California for approval of manufacturing.”

When authorities arrived, employees at the facility were in the process of manufacturing concentrated cannabis using commercial-grade extraction lab equipment, which utilized volatile gases. Large amounts of other chemicals including propane, ethanol, and butane were also found on the premises. Finished concentrated cannabis was located and seized from the business. Narcotics investigators were assisted by investigators from the Sheriff’s Bomb/Arson Unit, San Bernardino County Fire, San Bernardino County Hazmat and Adelanto Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement personnel found numerous code violations for building safety, construction and operations inconsistent with the Adelanto city ordinance.

Under California state law, persons utilizing the volatile extraction process are in violation of Health and Safety Code Section 11379.6, Manufacturing a Controlled Substance. Violation of this section is punishable as a felony offense. Commercial marijuana businesses cannot operate volatile extraction labs in California until such time the Bureau of Cannabis Control finalizes regulations and issues licenses. The Sheriff’s Narcotics Division will actively investigate all personal and commercial extraction labs. The use of volatile substances for the purpose of extracting concentrated cannabis is extremely dangerous with a high potential for explosion and fire.

Upon completion of the investigation and identification of the involved suspects, all reports will be forwarded to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for review and filing of criminal charges for manufacturing a controlled substance.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Gangs / Narcotics Division at 909-387-8400. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.