The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reportedly arrested seven medical marijuana delivery providers last week, after a sting, in which officers placed orders and lured the drivers to a golf course in Santee, California.

How The Sting Was Set Up

Dan Shook, who manages the MMJ delivery services, San Diego Organics and San Diego Native, said that several other operators received orders over a span of several hours on October 12.

All of the requests for cannabis were accompanied by a digital copy of a medical marijuana recommendation signed by a physician licensed by the State of California. A verification service was used to confirm the recommendation as valid, and photos of a California driver’s license in the same name as the patient were also provided with the orders.

Once the drivers arrived at the specified delivery location, Carlton Oaks Country Club, they were arrested by deputies and taken into custody on charges of misdemeanor transportation of marijuana, and their vehicles were impounded.

Five male drivers were taken to the county jail in downtown San Diego, where they were booked and released. The fate of two women arrested and taken to the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility has not yet been determined.

“This is the first time that I can recall a sting set up specifically to target what would otherwise be a state-law abiding interaction,” Shook said.

Final Hit: 7 Arrested in San Diego Medical Marijuana Delivery Sting

Elizabeth Wilhelm, the president of the advocacy group San Diego Cannabis Delivery Alliance, feels the sting operation was a publicity stunt by local law enforcement with a reputation for antagonism to the medical marijuana community.

“We feel conducting a sting operation at a country club is grandstanding. Public shaming only serves to fuel the divide between law enforcement and the cannabis industry,” said Wilhelm.

The City of Santee and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which provides law enforcement for the suburban town, have not responded to requests for more information on the sting.