One of Oregon’s biggest marijuana chains bought a Portland home in 2020, planning to turn it into a dispensary.
But the pot shop never materialized. Instead, neighbors say squatters moved into the property, which became a hotbed for dangerous crime like drive-by shootings, and the new owners — who bankrolled several prominent Democratic politicians — ignored their concerns.
“Just having the property owner saying, essentially, ‘If you don’t like it, move’ — as if, I am the problem because I’m annoying him with things that could actually end my life,” Jacob Adams, who lives nextdoor to the property, told KOIN 6 News.
La Mota is Oregon’s second-biggest cannabis dispensary chain, with 22 locations scattered across the state. Its owners, Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, were referred to as the “power couple of Oregon cannabis” in a recent Willamette Week investigation. They’re also frequent sponsors of Democratic candidates, throwing fundraisers at a rented mansion for now-Gov. Tina Kotek, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, and more, Willamette Week reported.
Since La Mota bought the property in southeast Portland, emergency crews have responded to the house 36 times for fires, theft reports,…