The city’s receipt of a $988,344 grant from Proposition 64 to form a Cannabis Enforcement Unit couldn’t have come at a better time, said Ceres Police Chief Trenton Johnson.
Johnson reported at last week’s council meeting that an illegal cannabis operation resulted in a fire that nearly took out a house were it not for the Modesto Fire Department’s quick response.
He reported that a fire broke out in a shed on Almond Grove Lane where an illegal marijuana grow was occurring.
“It caught the main house on fire and the neighbor’s garage on fire,” said Chief Johnson. “That was caused by an illegal marijuana growth.”
The same week, Ceres Police served as search warrant on Poppy Lane home where the entire house was converted to an illegal indoor marijuana growing operation. Police also seized an unregistered handgun inside the residence.
Chief Johnson said: “So two very significant cases in our city in the last week, and this grant couldn’t have come at a better time. So thank you for your support on that.”
In July the Ceres City Council voted to accept the grant to conduct proactive inspections, investigations, and enforcement targeting unlicensed retail sales, illegal cultivation, and organized cannabis operations. The unit will also strengthen coordination with regional partners to improve multi-agency enforcement effectiveness and reduce reliance on outside agencies.
In addition, the funds will help target youth prevention by educating kids on cannabis risks and laws through school outreach and community engagement. This initiative will transition Ceres from a reactive, complaint-driven approach to a proactive, data-driven enforcement model, Johnson said.
The grant covers activities for a five-year period ending on June 30, 2031. The grant will help keep one of three code enforcement officers whose jobs were going away with the exhaustion of ARPA funds. That officer will be trained in dealing with enforcing cannabis regulations.
The grant is from the $227 million doled out as part of the fourth batch of grants.
The Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program was established in 2016 through the voter-approved Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. Awards were made for projects addressing one or more of four cannabis related focus areas: public safety/enforcement, youth prevention/intervention, public health, or environmental impacts.
As part of the 2025 Budget Act, eligibility for grant funding was expanded to support more local jurisdictions in addressing cannabis-related public safety challenges.
