LA PINE, OR -- Detectives with the Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement team and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded an investigation Wednesday involving a mother and son in La Pine. Investigators believe the two were involved in growing and processing marijuana in La Pine, before delivering it around the Pacific Northwest.

This case began with community complaints and tips about 67-year-old Carol Ann Stam and her son, 26-year-old Darle Thomas Stam operating a large-scale marijuana grow in a residential area.

CODE and DCIME detectives, drug agents, and intelligence analysts conducted physical and electronic surveillance of the pair. As a result, the Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement team confirmed the Stam family built unpermitted structures and converted others into indoor marijuana grow facilities.

Detectives executed a Search Warrant on the 52500 block of Day Road Wednesday morning and seized 160 lbs. of processed marijuana flower, 474 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, and two firearms were seized. The estimated street value of the black-market processed marijuana flower is $160,000.

This commercial grow operation was located in a rural residential area of Deschutes County. Most of this area's residents depend on the ground or well water for their households and own agricultural ventures. In March 2022, Governor Brown declared Deschutes County to be in extreme drought conditions and struggling with consistent groundwater sources. 

It is estimated that indoor marijuana cultivation uses between 2.5 and 3.0 gallons per day per plant. That equals about 1,500 gallons per day or 45,000 gallons of water per month at this grow site alone. The US Department of Interior and the USGS estimate that an average person uses 3,000 gallons of water monthly, so a family of 4 would use 12,000 gallons for bathing, cooking, washing, recreation, and watering.

The Stams were arrested and lodged in the Deschutes County Sheriff's Jail and charged with the Unlawful Manufacturing, Delivery, and Possession of Marijuana.