California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that state law enforcement units conducted operations at state parks throughout California targeting illicit cannabis grow sites that endanger communities, the environment, and California’s legal cannabis industry, resulting in the seizure of more than 5,200 illegal cannabis plants and 14 illegal firearms, including three ghost guns and two assault weapons.
Officials from the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Governor’s UCETF, supported by the Department of Justice (DOJ), carried out the operations near the listed locations with the following results:
Saddleback Butte State Park in Antelope Valley: 3,684 plants were destroyed at three different grow sites, weighing approximately 9,620 pounds. Eight firearms were seized, including two illegal ghost guns and two assault weapons.
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Allensworth, CA: 1,572 plants weighing approximately 3,757 pounds were destroyed at two different grow sites. Six firearms were seized, including one illegal ghost gun.
Participating agencies included the Department of Cannabis Control, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California Department of Justice, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Parks, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the California National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Newsom has directed state agencies to aggressively target the organized criminal enterprises involved in the illicit cannabis market, which he said threatens the legal cannabis market. He added that 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.
