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Crime & Safety

Sheriff Gets Grant To Eradicate Marijuana

The "Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program" grant was awarded to the sheriff's office.

Local law enforcement got a grant that aims to smoke out marijuana law violators.

The Tuesday accepted a $175,000 federal grant to support the sheriff's department's drug interdiction efforts.

The Drug Enforcement Administration "Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program" grant was awarded to offset its costs for investigating, locating, seizing and destroying marijuana grows.

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Most of the funds will be dedicated to cover overtime expenses for personnel in the sheriff's Special Investigations Bureau.

Law enforcement has been busy in the last few years. After California voters approved a bill legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, numerous storefront marijuana dispensaries opened in Temecula and the surrounding area.

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Various law enforcement agencies have shut down each one.

"The sheriff's department and the DEA have been working together for more than 20 years in their efforts to eliminate operations where cannabis is grown in Riverside County," sheriff's documents state. "The department works to eradicate illicit marijuana cultivation and to arrest and bring to prosecution individuals charged with violating controlled substance laws."

-- Peter Surowski contributed to this report.

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