Cannabis facility reopens after police raid
A cannabis facility in Thousand Palms that was previously raided and shut down appears to be operating again.
The former Desert Cann Wellness Center was raided and shut down for operating illegally on October 30. The Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force said they seized over 1,000 live plants, almost 200 pounds of cannabis, and upwards of $9,000.
“We don’t want to have these unfair business practices going on where there’s operations that are being run by people that aren’t following the rules, that are not licensed that are not paying the license fees that are not paying the regulatory fees,” John Hall, public information officer for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said of the raid in October.
A viewer told News Channel 3 its doors were open and people were seen walking in and out of the building.
“They came in and raided and it looks like they’re operational now,” said Jos Bosch, owner of the neighboring Bosch Baking.
Bosch says traffic isn’t as busy as it used to be before the raid but sees clear signs of an operating business.
“I don’t know what they’re doing now. I can smell that they’re burning it off again and I do see people coming in and going, so, I don’t know if they’re just online operating,” Bosch said.
An employee told News Channel it’s a new business, calling it a delivery service. Shortly after that conversation, everyone left the building, closing up shop and leaving a sign on the door that said open 9 until 7. The employee didn’t answer additional questions but did show a business card with a marijuana leaf on it. The business on the card was named ‘Speakeasy Wellness.’
We reached out to a Riverside County representative who said commercial cannabis operations aren’t legal in unincorporated areas of Riverside County where speakeasy wellness is located. There is, however, a process to accept applications, evaluate them, and eventually permit a limited number of cannabis operations. So far no permits have been issued.
Hall told News Channel 3 he stands by his original comment from October and added, “along with cannabis dispensaries, it is also illegal at this time to operate cannabis delivery services in the unincorporated areas of Riverside County.”
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
