In strong support of California’s legal cannabis market, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that since January, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF) has seized more than $120 million worth of illegal cannabis, destroyed nearly 37 tons of unlicensed cannabis, including 122,914 illegal plants. As part of these operations, state law enforcement officials have also seized 22 firearms.
California Seizes over $120 Million in Illegal Cannabis since January
Press release from the Office of Governor Newsom:
“The legal cannabis market brings billions of dollars to our state’s economy, helping to sustain California’s position as the fifth largest economy in the world. We will not tolerate illegal operations that threaten our economy and the health and well-being of California communities.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
In recent months, the task force conducted operations in 11 California counties, including Mendocino, Tuolumne, Shasta, Orange, Kern, Alameda, Yuba, Trinity, Los Angeles, Butte, and Humboldt.
“UCETF’s efforts are continuing to break new ground in unlicensed cannabis enforcement by leveraging the expertise and knowledge of its diverse group of partners to disrupt the unlicensed market,” said Bill Jones, Chief of the Law Enforcement Division with the Department of Cannabis Control.
Taking down illicit cannabis
Governor Newsom has directed state agencies to aggressively target the organized criminal enterprises involved in the illicit cannabis market. These illegal schemes not only threaten California’s legal cannabis market, but the use of illegal pesticides and unregulated practices harm California’s environment and water quality. California is also focused on ending the exploitation of vulnerable workers at these sites, who are often victims of labor violations and human trafficking.
“The continued success of UCETF is a testament to the collaboration between its partner agencies. Due to the high level of engagement from each of the agencies involved, we are able to move swiftly against those who choose to continue to grow cannabis illegally,” said Nathaniel Arnold, Chief of the Law Enforcement Division with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and co-lead of UCETF. “We will continue to rely on the individual and combined strengths of these agencies to support those who are cultivating legally in a manner that is safe for the consumer, the general public, and the environment.”
A unified strategy across California
In 2022, Governor Newsom created the UCETF to further align state efforts and increase cannabis enforcement coordination between state, local, and federal partners. The enforcement actions protect consumer and public safety, safeguard the environment, and deprive illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue that harms consumers and undercuts the regulated cannabis market in California.
Since its inception, UCETF has seized over $465 million in unlicensed cannabis by serving 309 search warrants. The taskforce has also eradicated 470,435 illegal cannabis plants, seized 150 illegal firearms, and arrested 38 individuals.
To learn more about the legal California cannabis market, state licenses, and laws, visit cannabis.ca.gov.
Agents inspecting illegal cannabis site in Tuolumne County
UCETF operation in Mendocino County
Illicit cannabis seized in Mendocino County
UCETF operation in Kern County
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Blah, blah, blah
Well, Marijuana isn’t legal…
How much do we really need, anyway?
Even people who track these industries claim that grapes are about 10,000 acres overproduced…
Oregon is waist deep in weed, and the citizens are moving back to CA!
Too late, for everybody unless you a have pre-ordered crops, these days…
Even Walnuts are being torn out for row crops…
No doubt someone should explain to him that stealing is illegal . And where’s the 24.7 billion that’s unaccounted for from the homeless fund ? Huh gavin
Warning — click bait. Tap or click any of the links in the article — you will be tracked!
tracked by who?
tracked for what?
Are you anti big liberal government?
UCETF and cannabis.ca.gov
To put you on their list, so all your online activities can be monitored and related to others.
What does “anti big liberal government” mean?
Who cares if they track us. We don’t.
When they say $120M worth, what inflated price per pound are they using?
I hate to insult all the Newsom fans but…”We will not tolerate illegal operations that threaten our economy”.
Newsom is clueless about the California economy. Either that or he thinks we are. Money generated, whether legally or illegally helps the economy. The legal crop only fills the state coffers with funding. Newsom is a weasel.
Why can’t newsom just say that they are doing the raids to protect California’s tax base and the people that have jumped through the almost impossible hoops to get permitted. Would that be too honest?
The illegal market, whether it’s by the non-permitted growers, or the permitted growers selling excess crops under the table to make ends meet are the real economy.
My guess is that Newsom just shot another hole in California’s economic foot.
Aww but weed is legal……Why do we need the revenuers busting down hoopies to take weed? Is it to protect the tax base? Taxes paid for protection? Its just weed. Everyone can grow some at their own home. But weed smokers are lazy and stupid. And they vote for dems in most case……
🧌
ernie
its so much worse than that
the legal market is in the tank because of
1-massive overregulation, on the state and local level- idiots
2-illegal activity with zero consequeces for the money players behind all these grows – its only low lever losser workers that get wrapped up
im a lifelong multi generational mendo resident ive watched the mills close- ge captial mortgage foreclosed on ours when gp shut down
fish never to return
hubris filled beaurocrats make growng a stupid plant impossible and completly cost prohibiative
you can make money growing 10,000 sq ft of anything
weed is incredibly profiable with stolen water, slave labor no taxes no permits giving dope to deadbeats ( of all races and creeds) to use thier land
not profitable at all when you are held to a rediculously high stnadard and the competion doesnt have to
i saw these idiots drunk driving the county and state into ruin and left in 2020 so my kids would have some kind of opportunity , now i come back regulalry and watch mendo and hum slide deeper into the abyss
never to return to where most folks were just good normal hardworking folks – hippies too
why would anyone think california better off now than in 2011 when harris was top cop
then to dc to get the real benjamins
what a wasteland it has turned into these last 13 years
if youre saying more please
go get professional mental health care, you need it
You basically just agreed with the guy you are arguing against. Something is wrong with your reading comprehension.
🧌
Spot on Ernie
Let’s be frank, permitted growers aren’t dumping excess under the table, they are dumping the bulk ! Wink and a nod for the win- for them. Sugar-coating that double standard with the caveat they are just trying to “make ends meet” sums up the whole “our poo is rose-scented” mentality of the the permit fakes.
Taxes are so low that licensed growers have no reason to dump to the black market actually. But distributors will purchase from it all that they can.
Don’t get me started on the distributors. At one point I was calling and leaving messages every day for every distributor I could find. Sending emails. Everything.
Not one single response.
I started to suspect they’re only distributors to distribute from farms they own. It’s a closed system.
Right. The state economy benefitted much much more when weed was fully illegal & prices were high. Especially the northern part of the state. Now all the money is gone.
Lots of growers filled self employment & paid taxes on that income.
Thank you.
You said what I was going to say. Exactly.
I rarely log in on Redheaded, but I did for this one, specifically because this article is bass ackwards.
For DECADES, the black market was the backbone of many communities.
To say that only legal cannabis sales boost the economy, through grow taxes, is myopic.
Newsome, though a valid legislator, has lost sight, apparently, of the grass roots.
That’s not even mentioning the sales taxes that are paid via local businesses when those cannabis dollars are locally spent.
But, as the elders know, you can’t fight City Hall…
Oh, well.
Hopefully, the youth will eventually bring change.
What Newsom fans havnt heard one good thing said by anyone. The guys a clown
Gavin newsom’s words translated: “HOW DARE YOU AVOID TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION YOU FILTHY GOYIM!! DON’T YOU REALIZE WE NEED THAT 40% EXTRA TAXATION ON YOUR $20 EIGHTH OF BROWN WEED SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ISRAEL?!?!?”
Whoa cowboy
Newsom created an agency that has likely spent the equivalent or more of our tax dollars compared to the inflated media value of what they have eradicated just so that it looks like daddy is doing something to “ protect” his sons legal farms. I’m sure his son is selling the majority on the black market same as most all other permitted growers. If he really cared about the tax revenue he’d put an effective track and trace system in place with that money that made sure it all was sold on the white market. Newsom is definitely a weasel and his actions could be considered a conflict of interest….
Excellent points and the same with Ernie’s comment! The permitted farms have flooded the black market.METRC ( track and trace) is a joke that Newsom’s hand-picked Cannabis Control Agency has allowed to masquerade as a legitimate control. The operators of these mega- grows that get busted lose not much and the lowly workers caught there are releases w misdemeanors because… it’s “legal”. Sort of. Well, in a corporate- friendly version. The money spent by this state agency that became immediately corrupt is wasted in efforts to APPEAR helpful to smaller growers who still delusionally hope that their interests are being considered. Well…they threw their even smaller neighbors off the cliff so many of us have zero sympathy for their inescapable demise. The local governments just want tax and permit money but have done nothing to earn it other than also waste the funds on overhead and self- praising press releases. The shit show is really quite the farce. The smaller permit pansies have nobody but themselves to blame as they sucked up the lies being fed by consultants and county crooks. Meanwhile Oklahoma destroys Humboldt while even more massive competition awaits federal “legalization”. Yet we are supposed to believe press releases such as this and hold faith in our state to protect us?! Balderdash!
Go get ‘em Pelosi!s relative.
I knew Democrats would come around come election season
Hold on a sec, they only served 309 search warrants and seized 465 Million worth of weed? Well darn, that’s pretty good numbers, about 1.5 million in seizures per warrant served.
Kind of makes me want to get into the black market if that’s the potential. Also reminds me of the numbers hsco used to put out in the 90s where they would report total weight seized and include the weight of the soil in the pots. And people actually got charged based on that math.
This press release is insulting to any thinking person.
I’m curious what they busted in Orange county? Indoor I assume .
I find this funny because that is not a lot of Cannabis.
We grow over 180,000 at a time the farm I work at. And over 500,000 each growing season at our companies other farm in Lompoc.
It’s really not a lot.
Which is why there is a glut which is why the weed market tanked.
I’m sure metric would love to talk to you about how you’re selling 500,000 pounds every year on the California legal market.
Thanks, you’re a real hero
Let’s all give a round of applause for guy with a memory 👏🏻
“The legal market brings billions…”
I’d love to see even a sliver of that; I followed the rules, and all it got me was bankruptcy.
But does he realize all these “legal” businesses are moving a good percentage of their grown crop to the black market, helping to keep it alive themselves.
The “legal cannibus” market has obliterated the economy in Humboldt County…