CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
“DCC works to investigate those growing and selling marijuana illegally. These law enforcement investigations work to protect consumers, neighborhoods and licensed cannabis operations. This work can be dangerous and we thank the investigators for their dedication to public safety.”
FAIRFIELD – October 1, 2024, the Fairfield Police Department announced that in the past three months, its Code Enforcement worked with the Department of Cannabis Control to tackle a growing trend of illegal marijuana grow houses in Fairfield. During this time, five grow operations were discovered within a quarter-mile radius. Authorities seized 5,595 marijuana plants, and each of the five homes was declared unsafe, with properties red-tagged while pending further action.
According to the Fairfield Police Department, this concentrated area of activity highlights the growing trend of using residential properties for clandestine cultivation, often to avoid detection by law enforcement. Each of these operations presented significant risks to the community, from the environmental hazards posed by dangerous chemicals to the structural damage caused by unsafe modifications to the homes, including potential fire risk.
The hazards associated with illegal indoor grows include the use of hazardous chemicals, the use of CO₂ to accelerate plant growth, propane tanks and tubing pose a risk of explosion, particularly if gas leaks occur. Often illegal operators will make dangerous structural modifications to these homes. The most significant danger in illegal grow houses stems from electrical overload.
Cannabis plants require powerful lighting, with grow houses often using high-pressure sodium (HPS) or metal halide lights, each drawing 500 to 1,000 watts of power. In some cases, as many as 40 of these lights may be used in a single grow house, pushing electricity consumption to up to 12,000 kWh per month—about 20 times that of a typical household. To avoid detection and reduce energy costs, growers frequently bypass electrical meters, tampering with wiring to steal power. This not only increases the risk of electrical fires but also creates a deadly hazard for utility workers and first responders who may encounter the rigged systems. In many cases, these houses are outfitted with inadequate wiring and circuits that are not designed to handle such high loads, further increasing the fire risk.
The efforts of Code Enforcement and the Department of Cannabis Control to combat these illegals grows are crucial in protecting the community and preserving the health and safety of a community.
