Abandoned California Prison Used for Cannabis

An abandoned jail in California that used to be home to tons of inmates, some of which were likely incarcerated for minor pot offenses, may have a completely different use if a cannabis company in California gets what it wants. That company is Ocean Green Extracts, a marijuana concentrate maker in Southern California. What they wish to do, ironically, is turn the vacant Claremont Custody Center into a cannabis farm as well as a cannabis oil production center, according to sources.

It sounds like it would never happen in a million years, but Ocean Green actually presented its idea to the Coalinga mayor and city manager back in February, and sources report that they were in favor of the switch from jail to a cannabis production center. Local citizens, though, might be a bit harder to influence; if Ocean Green does actually get to go through with this, the city will become the first in the San Joaquin Valley to have medical cannabis.

Without a doubt, those who are inside of the prison are going to change. At the same time, what the company really needs to work on as a selling point is a high security. In order to persuade the police chief, who went completely against the council’s decision in January that allowed cannabis operations in their town, Ocean Green has to ensure the police department that there will be security cameras, background check, and heavy security.

However, keeping the prison as a vacant building is likely not ideal for the people of Coalinga. The best part about Ocean Green’s pitch to the town is that there will be a large $2 million payout in lease and tax payments to the city. In addition to that, there will also be an opening of a hundred jobs, all of which will be full-time, sources indicated.