One year ago, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) launched a targeted crackdown on illicit cannabis delivery services in the city; yesterday, a report published by the SDPD disclosed the results so far of that crackdown: 11 delivery services have been shut down and 34 individuals have been arrested. Police also confiscated business records, 230 pounds of cannabis, and $60,000 in cash.
San Diego’s illicit cannabis delivery services remain a popular option for consumers, however, according to an NBC 7 report.
Cannabis advocates and business owners have argued against the crackdown, saying that legalization and regulation — not enforcement — is the best way to control the marketplace.
“The black market is absolutely flourishing. It’s just getting bigger and bigger. … If you want the black market to go away, give them a path for legalization. If we have the same opportunities to be licensed and to be regulated, all those issues would kind of disappear the way they have with the legal dispensaries.”” — Elizabeth Wilhelm, former owner of Timely Holistic Care, via NBC 7
San Diego does not allow for delivery-only services — only licensed dispensaries with an actual storefront can make deliveries, and only in specific zones in the city.
SDPD Lieutenant Matt Novak told the City Council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods subcommittee in December that, because of “their mobility and multiple storage locations,” investigating the robbery of a delivery service poses “a much more lengthy investigative process” than for licensed storefronts.
“For the time that it takes to investigate a storefront marijuana robbery, it takes about twice the time to investigate a delivery service robbery.” — SDPD Lt. Matt Novak, via NBC 7