Last week was busy for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, who reported Monday that they confiscated over 500,000 fentanyl tablets that were disguised as ”M30” oxycodone pills. One of the primary reasons people overdose on fentanyl is because they think they are taking a less powerful opioid, typically disguised as an oxycodone or hydrocodone pill.

In one bust, a person at a clothing store was allegedly selling a lot more than just clothes: At 10:56 p.m. Friday, police in Hesperia, California served two search warrants at The House of Drip, a clothing store after officers caught wind of a drug operation taking place there. Officers from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department suspect that M30 fentanyl pills, as well as cannabis, were being sold at the business.

“Lenin Martinez Arevalo, 29, of Hesperia, was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of possessing or purchasing drugs for sale, transportation/sales of drugs, and possessing drugs for sale,” the Daily Press in Victorville reports.

Police said they found more than 4,000 fentanyl pills, cannabis, 227 boxes of THC resin, 35 boxes of psilocybin-infused chocolate, and $1,300 in cash while searching the House of Drip.

M30 fentanyl pills are particularly dangerous because they are designed to mimic the look of prescription oxycodone pills, or to a lesser extent—Adderall, Xanax, and other drugs.

A Bigger Problem in San Bernardino County

This was just a fraction of the total number of fentanyl pills the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Gangs/Narcotics Division scooped up last week. They confiscated over half a million fentanyl tablets.

“Last week, the San Bernardino CountySheriff’s Department Gangs/Narcotics Division seized over 115 pounds of fentanyl pills, equivalent to roughly 517,500 tablets. These pills are counterfeit pharmaceuticals containing fentanyl.

Last October, the San Bernardino County Health Department issued a health advisory to spread awareness to the dangers of fentanyl due to a huge uptick in overdose deaths in the county.

In 2021, there were 354 fentanyl overdose deaths in San Bernardino County.

Local health officials launched a campaign to raise awareness due to an unprecedented rise in fentanyl overdoses and poisonings in San Bernardino County. In June, San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health officials stated that the campaign will carry out through the year, with the slogan “Fentanyl Doesn’t Care. But We Do.”

“There is a misperception that fentanyl only affects drug addicts when in reality, it’s affecting a broad segment of our community,” Board of Supervisors Chair Dawn Rowe told the Daily Press last summer “This campaign will help shed light on the reality of the fentanyl crisis and help us save lives.”

The health department joined the “Stop the Void and the INTO LIGHT Project” to develop a media campaign targeting geographic areas in San Bernardino County that are prone to a high rate of fentanyl overdoses, with special consideration for young adults and “at-risk underserved communities.”

DEA’s Battle with Fake M30 Pills

San Bernardino County is just one region in California, but the problem stretches across all of the U.S. Data shows that in 2021, nearly 70,000 people in the U.S. died of drug overdoses involving fentanyl and fake opioid prescriptions.

“​​Counterfeit pills are nearly identical to actual prescription medications,” the DEA says in a Drug Fact Sheet. “The majority of counterfeit pills resemble oxycodone 30mg pills (M30s), but can also mimic hydrocodone, alprazolam (Xanax), Adderall, and other medications. There are indications that drug trafficking organizations are specifically targeting kids and teens by creating counterfeit pills in a variety of shapes and bright colors to appeal to that age group. Counterfeit M30 pills can vary in color from white to blue. The best way to avoid counterfeit medication is to take only medications prescribed by a licensed medical professional and dispensed by a registered pharmacist.”

As little as 2 mg of fentanyl can be deadly enough to stop breathing, and death is swift. That means taking just one counterfeit pill can result in death, especially if the person does not have a tolerance. On the other hand, 30 mg of oxycodone is maximum strength, which is strong but less likely to cause death than a smaller amount of fentanyl.

“Distributors in the United States are selling counterfeit pills on social media, appealing to a younger audience that use these apps,” the DEA continues. “Minors and young adults experimenting, as well as regular substance users, believe they are buying authentic oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax, or other medicines, but are unwittingly purchasing counterfeit pills that contain lethal amounts of drugs, usually fentanyl and methamphetamine.”

Fentanyl is around 100 times stronger than morphine, and 50 times stronger than heroin. And how widespread is the problem? Twenty-six percent of tablets tested in a DEA laboratory contained a lethal dose of fentanyl, the agency says. 

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In a press release, the MET released data about the operation’s many successes. “Since August 26, 2022, MET investigators have served 127 search warrants at illegal cultivation locations, arresting 103 suspects,” the MET stated. “As a result of the search warrants, investigators have seized 158,906 marijuana plants, 29,897 pounds of processed marijuana, 30 firearms, 28,259 grams (62.3 pounds) of concentrated marijuana, 5,443 grams (11.9 pounds) of Psilocybin mushrooms, and seized approximately $1,643,688.00 in illicit proceeds. Investigators also eradicated 1,188 greenhouses found at these locations, and mitigated six electrical bypasses and seven Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extraction labs.”

All of the investigations found offenders in violation of the California Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, as well as San Bernardino County ordinance, which does not allow commercial cannabis. The county also does not allow outdoor cannabis cultivation.

Although Operation Hammer Strike has concluded, the department states that county sheriffs will continue to investigate illegal cultivation. “The Sheriff’s Gangs/Narcotics Division will continue to enforce California’s cannabis laws and San Bernardino County’s cannabis cultivation and distribution ordinance. Persons found guilty of violating the state law and county ordinance are subject to fines, prosecution, and seizure of property.”

Operation Hammer Strike began in September 2021. At the time, there were an estimated 1,285 illegal grows reported throughout the county. In September, the MET began with a search warrant investigation of Hesperia, Pinon Hills, Phelan, and Landers, which resulted in numerous arrests and seizures of cannabis plants, processed cannabis product, firearms, and $30,000 cash. During the same month, another investigation yielded even more arrests and product seizures. This trend continued throughout 2021 and into 2022, with press releases describing the investigations in October 2021, November 2021, January 2022, February, and March.

In March, San Bernardino County sponsored state legislation with Assembly Bill 2728 and Senate Bill 1426 to stop illegal cannabis cultivation. “Illegal cannabis farming is devastating the desert communities of San Bernardino County,” said Supervisor Curt Hagman. “The County is determined to stop this terrible damage to the environment and to protect the lives and property of our residents from lawless criminals.” 

Assemblymember Thurston “Smitty” Smith also explained the reasoning behind the push to eliminate illegal grows. “The people of California let their voices be heard and chose to decriminalize cannabis. I support their choice. However, what they didn’t ask for was rampant cultivation and an illegal market sucking up resources, destroying the environment, and putting our communities at risk,” said Smith. 

By May 2022, one region of San Bernardino County reported that there were no more reported cannabis grows in the area. “I’m sure there are more out there but we actually have zero grows left in the Morongo Basin that have been reported to us,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus of Morongo Basin told the Hi-Desert Star. San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe commented on the quick call to action. “It normally takes this county a long time to make changes for our residents but this was not the case. Thank you very much on behalf of our residents for making it a safer place to live again,” Rowe said.

Statewide efforts to eliminate illegal cannabis grows have continued steadily. Back in October 2021, California Attorney Rob Bonta announced that the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) resulted in the destruction of over one million cannabis plants. “Illegal and unlicensed marijuana planting is bad for our environment, bad for our economy, and bad for the health and safety of our communities,” Bonta said in a press release.

More recently in July, agencies like the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the authorization of enforcement teams to investigate illegal cultivation during the 2022 growing season.

In October, Bonta announced that CAMP would henceforth be called the Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC), and would continue to investigate illegal cultivation. “The illicit marketplace outweighs the legal marketplace,” Bonta said. “It’s upside down and our goal is complete eradication of the illegal market.”

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Two bills were recently introduced to prevent illegal cannabis cultivation efforts, which are using more water than ever in the wake of a historic California drought.

“Illegal cannabis farming is devastating the desert communities of San Bernardino County,” said San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman in a press release. “The County is determined to stop this terrible damage to the environment and to protect the lives and property of our residents from lawless criminals.”

The county is sponsoring Assembly Bill 2728, introduced by Assemblymember Thurston Smith, and Senate Bill 1426, introduced by Senator Anna Caballero, to tackle these concerns.

AB-2728 would increase the fines for illegal cultivation to $1,000 for each day of violation, and $2,500 for each acre-foot of water diverted (and if that measurement isn’t specified, $500 per plant). These stipulations would only take place in a “critically dry year immediately preceded by two or more consecutive below normal, dry, or critical dry years” in the event that the California state governor has issued a state of emergency. “Our state is dealing with an unprecedented number of illegal cannabis grows, particularly in the rural desert communities that I represent in the legislature. Because of this, our laws need to require compliance and ensure that illegal activity is punished,” said Smith about the bill. Most recently, AB-2728 was referred to a committee on June 1.

SB-1426 would punish “unauthorized tapping into a water conveyance or storage infrastructure or digging or extracting groundwater from an unpermitted well.” “Illegal cannabis farming is killing wildlife and wreaking environmental damage across the state,” Caballero said in a San Bernardino press release in March. “This bill will help stop the pollution of our groundwater supply and the theft of water, which are all the more important during an ongoing multi-year drought.” Currently, as of May 19 the bill is “Held in committee and under submission” for the time being.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency for California’s drought three times so far in April, May, and July 2021 due to the impacts of climate change. In July 2021, he asked California residents to cut down on water usage with a goal of reducing water use by 15%. More recently in March 2022, Newsom shared that that goal was not met, and he asked local water agencies to “implement more aggressive water conservations.”

San Bernardino County is one of many regions in California experiencing dry conditions. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva explained the data in relation to the amount of water required to grow cannabis. “The average marijuana plant requires a minimum of 3 gallons of water per plant, per day,” said Villanueva, according to NBC Miami. “Just the 2021 numbers alone amount to 150 million gallons of water used to bring that crop to harvest. That’s just enormous.”

However, the amount of water that a cannabis plant needs to thrive is highly dependent on its location, growing medium, and current stage of growth. A 2019 survey called “A narrative review on environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation” estimates that outdoor cannabis requires 5.5 gallons per day per plant in August, and 5.1 gallons per day per plant in September, whereas indoor grown plants used 2.5 gallons in August and 5.1 gallons in September. Ultimately, the study stated that cannabis plants need much more water and nutrients to thrive, unlike other crops such as wheat, corn/maize, soybean, cotton or rice.

Another study published in October 2020, called “Water storage and irrigation practices for cannabis drive seasonal patterns of water extraction and use in Northern California,” stated that legal cannabis cultivation farms use groundwater wells more often than other water sources, such as streams, captured rainwater, springs, and municipal water systems. “Our findings indicate that water extraction from farms using groundwater wells generally occurs during the summer dry season and highlight the need to assess their potential impacts to connected surface water in streams,” the study authors wrote.

Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a longtime resident of the California high desert, issued a statement of his own in regards to water being used and polluted by illegal cultivators. “To any of those who are engaged in the illicit grows: I want you to know there’s a collective effort, and we’re coming after you,” Lackey said at a press conference on May 18. “You come after a very sacred thing: our community. You come after our desert, and you’re stealing our water. You’re poisoning our land, and enough is enough.”

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This April, a massive 420 event, packed with an impressive lineup of hip-hop and rap musicians, is heading to Southern California.

The Smoker’s Club Festival is an 18+ event will be held at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California, on Saturday, April 30—a destination that has been popularly chosen as the location for many other cannabis-related events in the past. If you’ve been looking for a sign to get out there and celebrate 420 in the sun, rather than in your living room, this is it. The Smoker’s Club announced the good news on January 20. “WE’RE BACK. APRIL 30. SO CAL,” The Smoker’s Club wrote on social media.

The 2022 event headliners include Kid Cudi, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Schoolboy Q (performing hits off his album Oxymoron), Wiz Khalifa (performing songs off his mixtape Kush & Orange Juice), 2 Chainz and so many more. Kid Cudi was busy in 2021, not only because he headlined Rolling Loud LA, but he also hinted that he’s got two albums in the works for 2022. Likewise A$AP Rocky headlined Rolling Loud Miami and ComplexCon 2021 last year and teased in a GQ interview that his new album, tentatively called All Smiles, would be released in the future.

This lineup has a lot in common with The Smoker’s Club Festival in 2018, which was held in Long Beach, California. Among its headliners were also Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa and Schoolboy Q, as well as Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy, Lil Skies and Mac Miller prior to his passing.

This year’s The Smoker’s Club Festival is also jam-packed with over 65 artists in the lineup—the poster advertisement contains so many individual acts that they can barely fit all of them on one page. Joey Bada$$, Danny Brown, Rico Nasty, SahBabii, Clams Casino, The Cool Kids, Asher Roth, Kreayshawn—it’s an epic setup that you’re not likely to find anywhere else. It has been a rough few years for musicians who rely on touring and in-person performances, so seeing some of these great groups and individuals in one place is a joyous occasion. Given the vast amount of entertainment contained in this one-of-a-kind event, tickets are priced at $222.99 for general admission, $408.99 for VIP access and $429.00 and up for hotel packages.

The Smoker’s Club is a famous New York City-based lifestyle brand founded by Jonnyshipes, Smoke DZA and Shiest Bubz. The trio first came up with the name in early 2010 at a humble smoke session. By March 2010, they had managed to put together the first The Smoker’s Club show at SXSW. Back then, it gathered artists such as Currensy, Smoke DZA, Kendrick Lamar, Devin The Dude, Big K.R.I.T., Schoolboy Q, JayRock and many more. According to the founders, people everywhere began requesting The Smoker’s Club shows in their home cities, and “so the legend of the Smokers Club was born.” Since then, the event has been held in over 100 cities and 20 different countries across the globe.

Twelve years following that first event, The Smoker’s Club brand now offers high-end streetwear and accessories. Some of their best sellers are oversized hoodies with and premium cotton T-shirts, and the brand also offers a wide variety of beanies, ashtrays, stickers, pins and other accessories as well.

Not to mention that The Smoker’s Club also offers three “connoisseur cannabis” flowers that are all described as hybrid/indica-dominant. Donuts is described as a smooth and robust smoke that has a strange but pleasant “creaminess” at the end of the exhale. Critterz smells of guava and chocolate, with a “gassy essence” but a fruit-cream-like flavor when exhaling. Lastly, Jobstopper brings a heavy fuel profile, but still offers sweet flavors such as vanilla cake, cream cheese frosting and whipped cream.

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An ongoing operation in southern California culminated on Sunday, yielding the arrests of 34 people and the seizure of more than 33,000 marijuana plants.

The sheriff’s department in San Bernardino County, California said that “Operation Hammerstrike” was carried out between November 1 and November 7 by investigators from the department’s Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET), as well as San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies “from several different Patrol Stations.”

The department said that it was the 10th week of Operation Hammerstrike. 

Together, they “served 26 search warrants at various locations in Lucerne Valley, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Wonder Valley, Helendale, Newberry Springs, Pinon Hills, Phelan, Daggett, Barstow and Rancho Cucamonga” in arresting 34 suspects and seizing 33,189 marijuana plants, 8,588 pounds of processed marijuana, nine guns and more than $24,000 in cash.

Those suspects “were cited or booked on charges of Cultivation of Cannabis, over six plants, Possession for Sales of Marijuana, Illegal Water Discharge and Possession of a Firearm with Obliterated Serial Number,” the department said.

Moreover, investigators said they “eradicated a total of 211 greenhouses found at [those] locations, as well as two indoor locations,” and that they “mitigated one electrical bypass.”

“MET personnel had received numerous complaints about large outdoor and indoor marijuana cultivations in these areas,” the sheriff’s department said. “The investigations revealed the cannabis cultivations were not in compliance with California’s Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) and San Bernardino County’s ordinance prohibiting Commercial Cannabis Activity.  

“San Bernardino County has a law prohibiting Commercial Cannabis Activity, which includes growing marijuana plants outdoors. The Sheriff’s Gangs/Narcotics Division will continue to enforce California’s cannabis laws and San Bernardino County’s ordinance regarding cannabis cultivation and distribution. Persons found guilty of violating the state law and county ordinance are subject to fines, prosecution, and seizure of property.”

California voters legalized recreational pot use and sales by passing a ballot measure, Proposition 64, in 2016. But five years later, the illicit market continues to thrive in the Golden State, and this is an issue the state is still working on tackling. 

A report over the weekend by National Public Radio noted that “fully legal weed makes up just a fraction of the state’s marijuana market, with some experts estimating that 80 to 90 percent of cannabis sales in California still fall into a legal gray zone.”

NPR interviewed Amanda Chicago Lewis, a reporter who covers the cannabis industry, who said that “the problem is the legal market is expensive to join if you are a seller, if you’re a grower,” and that “it’s expensive to participate as a consumer.” The unregulated market, by contrast, poses little barrier to entry for prospective sellers, as well as cheaper products.

The trend has also occurred in other places, such as Canada, where recreational marijuana is likewise legal.

That means that operations like the one in San Bernardino County over the last week have continued to be common in California.

Last month, the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said that California law enforcement officials had destroyed more than a million marijuana plants this year as part of the so-called “Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.”

“Illegal and unlicensed marijuana planting is bad for our environment, bad for our economy, and bad for the health and safety of our communities,” Bonta said at the time. 

To that end, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department warned that property owners “who are growing marijuana or are aware their tenants are growing marijuana on their properties in violation of the state law and local ordinances may also be subject to civil or criminal sanctions.”

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