The food police

The flourishing California regulatory state shows no sign of retreating. There’s scarcely any aspect of human activity in the Golden State not subject to authoritarian government mandate or oversight.

Consider the case of a Stockton woman who faces jail time after being caught in a police sting designed to crack down on a local food club. Yes, you read that correctly.

Mariza Reulas, a single mother of six, now awaits a trial on charges that she illegally sold cerviche to an undercover officer through a community Facebook group formed to share recipes and organize potluck dinners. She could be put behind bars for a year.

Ms. Reulas joined 209 Food Spot two years ago. Participants sometimes trade food or make certain culinary items that other members purchase once or twice a month. Her chicken-stuffed avocados were particularly popular.

Last July, however, Ms. Reulas received a notice in the mail informing her she was a law breaker. The local authorities had charged her and two other 209 Food Spot members with operating an illegal food facility and engaging in business without a permit.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that investigators in San Joaquin County had for more than a year been targeting the group and tracking activity on its website. Late in 2015, Ms. Reulas was contacted by somebody looking to purchase a plate of her cerviche. Turned out the phony food lover was an undercover agent.

Prosecutors offered Ms. Reulas a plea deal of three years probation, a $235 fine and 80 hours of community service, the Post reported. But she couldn’t afford the fine so she refused.

LA Weekly earlier this year ranked Stockton the second most dangerous city in California, trailing only San Bernardino. The fact that law enforcement officials in the town would devote even a scintilla of energy to harassing citizens such as Ms. Reulas is not only incomprehensible, it’s obscene.