A home daycare center in North Carolina has been swept up in a pair of sting operations that netted marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and weapons this week. Police arrested and have filed multiple drug charges against the daycare’s owner and co-operator.
North Carolina Daycare Turns Out To Be A Stash House
Victoria L. Everett and Reshod J. Everett are in jail today on more than $700,000 bond after police found cannabis and other drugs in a residence the pair were operating as a home daycare center.
The daycare center, called Tori’s Playhouse, was the target of a search warrant police executed on Tuesday. Prior to the raid, police learned that the residence on the 1000 block of Ronald Reagan Dr. was a childcare center.
According to police, officers waited to conduct the raid until the daycare center had closed for the day, thus ensuring children were not present when authorities searched the premises.
During the search, police and detectives seized more than one hundred pounds of cannabis. Additionally, they found marijuana edibles and gummies, as well as other drugs. There were also six guns in the house.
Cannabis Prohibition Fuels Illegal Activity In North Carolina
The raid on the Tori’s Playhouse daycare center and a second residence in Fayetteville, NC occurred with help from the Central District Community Empowerment Team and the Violent Criminal Apprehension Team.
Both law enforcement groups are involved in ongoing investigations into narcotics-related gang activity in the area.
North Carolina law carries harsh penalties for the possession, use, and sale of cannabis. Possession over 1.5 ounces is a felony, and selling or cultivating any amount is a felony. Some NC legislators are supporting bills that would decriminalize possession up to four ounces.
In the absence of a legal, regulated cannabis market in North Carolina, black market operators have a monopoly. Incarceration and prohibition fuel illegal activity. And too often, that activity intersects with other parts of communities, including caregiving services.
Licensed Childcare Center Caught Up In Cannabis Bust
Victoria Everette’s Tori’s Playhouse childcare center was a licensed care provider. It also participated in a subsidized child care program, making daycare more affordable for low-income families.
States with legal adult-use cannabis programs can and have used tax and other revenue from the regulated market to fund important community and social services, including childcare.
Enforcing prohibitive marijuana laws presents a significant drain on taxpayer dollars and contributes to all the costs and consequences of an overloaded criminal legal system.
Legalizing cannabis also helps isolate it from drug traffic in other, more dangerous controlled substances. Police didn’t just seize cannabis when they searched the home daycare—they also found guns, cocaine, and heroin.
Everette, however, did not receive any weapons charges.
