Statewide task force seizes over $120 million in illegal cannabis

A California task force has seized illegal cannabis totaling more than $120 million and eradicated nearly 123,000 illegal plants this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Wednesday.

The Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force since January has destroyed more than 37 tons of unlicensed cannabis, a staggering weight that is as heavy as over 20 cars, according to state officials. Authorities also have seized 22 firearms during raids of illegal grow operations.

“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,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will not tolerate illegal operations that threaten our economy and the health and well-being of California communities.”

In recent months, the task force — which consists of more than two dozen municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies — conducted operations in counties that included 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,” Bill Jones, Law Enforcement Division chief with the state’s Cannabis Control Department, said in a statement.

Newsom has directed state agencies to aggressively target the organized criminal enterprises involved in the illicit cannabis market, according to his office. Officials noted that in addition to negatively impacting the legal cannabis industry and consumer market, illicit grow operations that use illegal pesticides and unregulated practices pollute the environment and reduce water quality.

Authorities are also focused on stopping the exploitation of workers at illegal cannabis grow sites, many of whom are victims of human trafficking and often subjected to labor-law violations.

“The continued success of UCETF is a testament to the collaboration between its partner agencies,” Nathaniel Arnold, chief of the Law Enforcement Division with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and co-lead of UCETF, said in a statement. “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. 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.”

Newsom created the UCETF to align statewide enforcement efforts and increase coordination among state, local and federal agencies. The crackdown on illegal growing aims to safeguard public safety and the environment while depriving “illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue that harms consumers and undercuts the regulated cannabis market in California,” officials said.

Since launching the UCETF has impounded more than $465 million in unlicensed cannabis after serving 309 search warrants, the governor’s office reported. The task force has eradicated 470,435 illegal cannabis plants, seized 150 illegal firearms, and arrested 38 people.

More information on the state’s legal cannabis market, licenses and laws is at cannabis.ca.gov.