Puerto Rico police uncover island’s biggest pot greenhouse

June 29, 2022 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico police said they raided the island’s largest hydroponic marijuana greenhouse on Tuesday, with nearly 2,000 plants being grown in a former addiction treatment center.

Police Commissioner Antonio López Figueroa said officers discovered the greenhouse in the northern town of Carolina, just east of the capital of San Juan, after receiving a complaint about possible human trafficking. He said no one was found inside the three-story building.

Officials said the plants were nearly six feet (two meters) tall, and that additional marijuana had been packed and was ready for distribution. They said they also found weapons at the site.

López said the investigation is ongoing and that police are seeking to find those responsible for what he called an industrial-level production of pot.

The U.S. territory legalized medical marijuana in 2015 via an executive order, but it hasn’t decriminalized the substance despite recent debate on the issue following proposals of allowing personal possession of anywhere from 14 grams to 28 grams.