| Photo: Northern California Hiking Trails Blog |
| Deputies claim popular writer Tom Stienstra, 55, had a “sophisticated cultivation operation” in his barn in Weed, California |
Well-known outdoor author Tom Stienstra has been arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.
Stienstra, 55, was busted March 25 after deputies served a search warrant at his home in Weed, California, and found what they claimed was a “sophisticated cultivation operation” in his barn, sheriff’s department spokesperson Susan Gravenkamp said in an email to the Redding Record Searchlight.
Deputies claimed they found 31 immature marijuana plants, 29 mature plants and 11 pounds of dried marijuana, Gravenkamp said.
Much of the processed marijuana was packaged, according to Gravenkamp. Deputies also claimed they found scales, packaging material and other “paraphernalia” at Stienstra’s barn and inside his home, she said.
Stienstra, an outdoor writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and syndicated newspaper columnist, is also an author of books on hiking, camping and the outdoors. He has a weekly TV show in KBCW/KMAX in Sacramento, and a weekly radio program on San Francisco’s KCBS.