Sutter County farmer who lobbied against hemp ban secures bail after pot bust
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- Authorities seized 48,000 pounds of marijuana in Sutter County pot bust.
- Hemp farmer Luke Wilson faces drug and tax charges tied to illegal operation.
- County allowed hemp farming after prior ban, but still prohibits marijuana.
Roughly 48,000 pounds of marijuana — valued at more than $60 million — was seized and destroyed over the course of five days as authorities cleared out what they described as an illegal marijuana operation in Sutter County suspected of hiding under the guise of a hemp processing plant.
Lucas “Luke” Maxwell Wilson, a hemp farmer charged with marijuana and tax evasion crimes related to the alleged operation, was released Friday from the Sutter County Jail after retaining a bondsman to post his $1 million bail.
Wilson, 45, had lobbied local support and successfully worked with county officials earlier this year to overturn a yearlong hemp ban in the county, where hemp farming had been allowed despite the county’s hardline stance against marijuana-related businesses.
Sutter Superior Judge John K. Hinely in court Friday sided with Wilson, who had to show that money and property held as surety for his release were not connected to the alleged marijuana operation, which authorities took interest in after someone complained of illegal hemp processing at the Live Oak facility.
No hemp was found at the site, authorities said, but the seized marijuana was valued at more than $60 million. The Bee could not independently verify the estimates authorities made.
The county had approved a license for Wilson to farm hemp on 638 acres this year in Sutter County, but he was not licensed to process hemp.
A different judge who Wilson first appeared before last week said that the operation was also suspected of moving marijuana out of state, although no charges alleging that activity have been filed.
A county worker and sheriff’s deputy went to the property July 14 after someone reported that the facility was being used illegally to process hemp. After that visit, Wilson filed for a hemp processing permit, county officials said.
More county workers returned to the facility July 23 for inspections and called the Yuba Sutter Narcotic and Gang Task Force after finding what they believed to be illegal activity unrelated to hemp.
Thousands of pounds of marijuana
After returning with a search warrant, authorities found and began hauling away thousands of pounds of marijuana in different forms, beginning late last week and lasting through the weekend.
A probation and parole officer who appeared in court last week had been to the facility and described authorities finding marijuana plants and products in various forms, such as pre-rolled joints.
Wilson was arrested July 23 and charged with felony marijuana cultivation and two felonies accusing him of failing to report sales tax and evading taxes and fees owed to the state Department of Cannabis Control.
Wilson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 15. His attorney John J. Casey III declined comment.
Restrictions of cultivation and sales
Local levels of government have not taken warmly to the marijuana industry in Sutter County and Yuba City. Neither has allowed marijuana farming or processing. Dispensaries are also not permitted to operate in either jurisdiction.
“Marijuana has been prohibited in the county,” said Steve Smith, Sutter County administrator, of farming the crop. “Commercially, in Sutter County right now, you can’t cultivate it or sell it.”
Sutter County has allowed hemp farming since 2019. But not without challenges.
After a series of resident complaints, and years of the county agricultural department losing money overseeing its hemp program, county supervisors voted in December to enact a one-year ban on the crop.
Hemp growers and others supportive of the industry pushed supervisors to reconsider their ban. Wilson, heading the largest hemp operation in the county, was front-facing during the public talks and small workshops with county officials.
He and other proponents worked with county officials to devise compromises — including higher licensing fees for growers and locating hemp fields farther away from communities — that supervisors sided with when voting in April to reverse their ban and allow hemp for the rest of the year.