California 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.
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.
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.
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 task force has also eradicated 470,435 illegal cannabis plants, seized 150 illegal firearms, and arrested 38 individuals.
