PACIFIC PALISADES—A woman, who has been coined the largest cannabis landlord in all of California, was arrested on Wednesday, February 20 after her illegal marijuana grow was discovered in a building she owned on February 6 in San Bernardino. The operation was identified on 444 N. H St. by the Special Enforcement Team, where over 2,600 pounds of marijuana and cultivation equipment were found. The property was being rented by the grower.
The owner of the location is real estate developer Stephanie Smith. A search warrant was served for her Pacific Palisades property located on the 400 block of Puerto del Mar, where a large amount of prescription Norco and Oxycodone pills were hidden in the home, along with about $200,000 in cash. Smith’s bail was set at $30,000.
Smith booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Century Station for sales of a controlled substance. According to Cannabis Business Times, she manages 50 cannabis properties and spaces for manufacturing and extraction. Smith’s arrest was the result of a 14-month investigation by the San Bernardino Police Department.
Several of Smith’s properties were raided by police in December 2017, raided three separate warehouses that were being used to cultivate marijuana. The multi-million dollar busts led to the seizure of over 25,000 plants and a total of 4.49 tons of marijuana. One of the sites, which police deemed a “fortress,” housed 100,000 square feet of plants.
Written By Heidi Awada and Donald Roberts
