Many marijuana dispensaries in Chula Vista often have the same look with green neon lights adorning the building. Sometimes a human billboard can be seen outside with a green neon sign and despite Chula Vista Police attempting to crack down those shops, it's still not hard to find another a few blocks away.
On Broadway Friday morning, a SWAT team raided an illegal marijuana dispensary and confiscated $5 to $10 million worth of marijuana products, $15,000 in cash, and arrested six people.
Chula Vista police told NBC 7 the raid was the largest single bust of a pot shop in the city's history.
CVPD said officers are currently targeting 11 other illegal dispensaries as they attempt to crack down on the shops in the area.
Several people told NBC 7 that they were sent to a 3rd Avenue location once the Broadway spot was closed. It's unclear if the same group of people operated both locations.
Sofia Sanchez told NBC 7 she just bought pot from that not so discreet location.
"It's kind of funny if you think about it because people want their marijuana. They want it bad, and they're gonna go wherever they can to get it," said Sanchez. "I've heard stories like people saying if cops ever come into a dispensary as long as you're purchasing, you're fine."
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Currently, there are no legal and permitted marijuana dispensaries in the City of Chula Vista, police confirmed.
"I mean, if you're going to keep just doing the same thing over and over again and you know there's not really like anything wrong happening, maybe find a solution for both the parties," said Sanchez.
Friday night, CVPD told NBC 7 it was aware of the location and called it common practice for one dispensary to direct customers to another in the event one is shutdown.
The city of Chula Vista plans to issue licenses to approved businesses as early as next year. But admits the process for bringing licensed dispensaries online has been more difficult than they thought: they said they received 133 applications for just 12 spots.
