A tip that marijuana plants were being cultivated in an Alamo home led to a drug bust last week by a narcotics enforcement team. Agents found 30 plants.
North Jackson Way resident Ted Carscadden, 47, was arrested on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana. He was released because he had a prescription from Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco to use marijuana to relieve his chronic back pain, according to Central Contra Costa County Narcotic Enforcement Team reports.
The law allows six mature and 12 immature plants for medical purposes, said CNET Commander Norm Wielsch. “We seized 23 plants and left him with seven because two were immature,” said Wielsch.
He said the plants were being nurtured under horticultural grow lamps, with fans blowing to help keep the heat down. “It was a pretty big setup,” he said. There were also a shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle on the premises, he said.
The case will be referred to the District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to press charges.
Wielsch said marijuana cultivation can be profitable, with indoor plants producing up to two pounds per year, and each pound selling for $4,000-$8,000.
“It’s a big business,” he said. He added that it is a dangerous business as growers become territorial and fight to protect their stashes, noting a shootout between law enforcement and marijuana growers in Santa Clara County in August.
He said earlier this year a property owner on Mount Diablo found marijuana seedlings. He killed them with a weed control product and notified County Narcotic Enforcement.
“We check out Mount Diablo with a helicopter every year during the growth season,” said Wielsch. “The color is different but they try to conceal it.”
The CNET telephone tip line for information about suspected local drug dealers is 602-6591.
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