{"id":2520682,"date":"2025-12-12T16:31:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T21:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-confiscates-56-5m-in-black-market-cannabis\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T21:36:18","slug":"california-confiscates-56-5m-in-black-market-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-confiscates-56-5m-in-black-market-cannabis\/","title":{"rendered":"California confiscates $56.5M in black market cannabis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-confiscates-56-5m-in-black-market-cannabis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2520682&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>California authorities recently seized $56.5 million worth of illegally grown cannabis plants during several raids conducted in November. State law enforcement targeted large illegal cultivation sites in Los Angeles and Alameda counties, confiscating a total of 58,358 plants. These illegal operations pose significant environmental risks, including water pollution, habitat destruction, and the spread of invasive species, as highlighted by the Department of Fish and wildlife. During the raids, agencies also seized firearms, illegal drugs, and arrested 12 individuals. The crackdown is part of ongoing efforts by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force to combat illegal cannabis production, protect communities from associated hazards such as fire risks and toxic pesticides, and support the legitimate cannabis market. these <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >actions follow previous law enforcement operations targeting fentanyl trafficking earlier<\/a> in the year.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">California confiscates $56.5M in black market cannabis<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2443472\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\">California<\/a> officials announced this week that state law enforcement seized $56.5 million of illegally-grown <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marijuana\/\">marijuana<\/a> plants in November, according to&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2025\/12\/10\/cannabis-crackdown-state-officials-seize-58350-illegal-cannabis-plants-worth-57-million-in-november\/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom&rsquo;s office.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>State agencies conducted three raids in November on illegal cannabis farms. That resulted in the confiscation of 58,358 plants. Each raid targeted large illegal cultivation sites in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/los-angeles\/\">Los Angeles<\/a> and Alameda counties. All the sites that were targeted pose environmental risks to the natural landscape and nearby neighborhoods, officials told <em>The Center Square<\/em> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3916447\/fbi-hunting-764-crime-network-targeting-children\/\">FBI &#8216;hunting&#8217; more than 350 people in &#8216;764&#8217; crime network targeting children<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3916356\/duffy-yank-73-million-funding-new-york-cdl-requirements\/\">Duffy set to yank $73 million in funding unless New York meets deadline on CDL requirements<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3915184\/alleged-january-6-pipe-bomber-detention-hearing-delayed-brian-cole-jr\/\">Alleged Jan. 6 pipe bomber&#8217;s detention hearing delayed until end of month<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>One raid was conducted by the Department of Cannabis Control, and the other two were conducted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When we see these illicit cannabis sites happen at this scale, there are often illegal water diversions contaminating and polluting waterways or stream beds,&rdquo; Sarah Sol, public information officer for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told <em>The Center Square<\/em> on Thursday. &ldquo;There could be light pollution, there could be noise pollution, and when they clear-cut land, they could spread invasive species. There&rsquo;s a wide variety of environmental impacts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement officers with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which assisted with the raids, confiscated illegally-grown plants from unlicensed cultivation sites in the two counties. Approximately 52 of those sites were in the Lancaster area in the northeastern part of Los Angeles County, the governor&rsquo;s office said.<\/p>\n<p>According to a 2024&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cannabis.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/California-Cannabis-Market-Outlook-Executive-Summary-FNL.pdf\">report from the Department of Cannabis Control<\/a>, about 11.4 million pounds of illicit cannabis are produced in California each year. Investments into law enforcement help support the licensed cannabis market, which in turn raises costs for growers who insist on conducting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-california-laws-crack-down-on-illicit-cannabis-sales\/\" title=\"New laws in ... target ... sales.\">illegal cannabis operations<\/a>,&nbsp;the report said.<\/p>\n<p>During the raids in the Lancaster area, police confiscated six firearms, eradicated 32,738 plants, and destroyed 5,122 pounds of processed cannabis, the governor&rsquo;s office said. Officers also arrested 12 people and confiscated 12 grams of methamphetamine, according to the governor&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<p>A separate operation in Hayward resulted in officers eradicating 6,157 cannabis plants and seizing more than 193 pounds of processed cannabis. A Harbor City raid also saw the destruction or seizure of $16.5 million in illegal cannabis, according to a news release from the governor&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Illegal cannabis operations, particularly those embedded in residential neighborhoods, pose unacceptable risks to California families,&rdquo; Nicole Elliott, director of the California Department of Cannabis Control, said. &ldquo;Whether the issue is fire hazards, toxic pesticides, or criminal networks exploiting our communities, UCETF [Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force] partners remain committed to protecting the public and holding bad actors accountable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The November raid comes on the heels of operations conducted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-radio-reporter-arrested-for-firebombing-police-cars\/\" title=\"Public Radio \u201cReporter\u201d Arrested For Firebombing Police Cars\">law enforcement officials<\/a> in October that saw a record number of fentanyl pills seized, according to previous reporting by <em>The Center Square<\/em>. Approximately 1.2 million fentanyl pills were seized by California National Guard troops in October, bringing the number of fentanyl pills seized this year to more than 3 million pills, or more than 5,174 pounds, according to the California National Guard.<\/p>\n<p>The governor&rsquo;s office and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration&nbsp;deferred <em>The Center Square&rsquo;s<\/em> questions to the Department of Cannabis Control. That department&nbsp;did not respond to <em>The Center Square<\/em> before press time on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Other state and local government agencies involved in the investigation and subsequent raids at illegal grow sites were not immediately available on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California seizes $56.5M in illegal cannabis during raids<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2520683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP21177041424577.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[68737,4045,68738,65528,59963],"class_list":["post-2520682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-black-market-cannabis","tag-california","tag-cannabis-confiscation","tag-drug-enforcement","tag-illegal-marijuana"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP21177041424577.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520682"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520686,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520682\/revisions\/2520686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2520682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2520682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}