The violations had nothing to do with cannabis. Neither did nearly half the drone flights Sonoma County made in 2024, according to an ACLU lawsuit alleging around 700 warrantless flights over private property since 2019. The county has stopped flying while it negotiates a settlement.
A Northern California county has paused a controversial drone surveillance program targeting small-time cannabis growers after an enforcement campaign that left dozens of people facing foreclosure, eviction and six-figure fines.
Sonoma County was sued on behalf of residents by the American Civil Liberties Union last year and accused of an unconstitutional “runaway spying operation” in which officials flew drones low over properties in search of unpermitted cannabis grows. But nearly half the 2024 drone flights had nothing to do with cannabis, according to the lawsuit.
“Like anything, I can sit and feel sorry for myself or I can take action,” says Keni Meyer, whose home was foreclosed after officials alleged minor building code violations unrelated to cannabis. She is now living in a trailer park. “I’ll never stop fighting the good fight,” she adds.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
About 700 warrantless drone flights over private property since 2019.
Roughly 5,600 aerial photographs collected, some taken from as low as 50 feet.
Nearly half of the 2024 flights had nothing to do with cannabis.
863 cannabis cultivation sites shut down over the same period, according to internal county documents cited in the filing.
Figures as alleged in the ACLU’s complaint against Sonoma County. The county says it does not comment on pending litigation.
Over several years, however, a slew of cannabis farms were cited for alleged minor code violations that were often difficult or impossible to resolve before penalties rapidly escalated into six-figure fines, sending them out of business.
“The objective really was just to destroy cannabis cultivators in Sonoma County and they were …
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Author: Mattha Busby / High Times
