California seizes 63,000 pounds of illegal cannabis

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(The Center Square) – Authorities in California continue to find and destroy illegal marijuana.

According to the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force, more than 63,000 pounds of illegal cannabis were seized between April and June.

The plants were valued at over $104 million. Twenty-four arrests were made, 17 firearms confiscated, and $220,923 in cash seized across 10 counties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who established the task force in 2022, said disrupting the illegal cannabis market is about more than seizing unlicensed products.

“It’s about taking on criminal networks, removing illegal firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals, and stopping activity that threatens public safety,” said Newsom in a press release. “Through strong multiagency collaboration, California is making clear: if you threaten our communities, we will act."

The crackdown had the biggest impact on Kern County, where authorities destroyed 25,122 pounds of illegal cannabis valued at an estimated $41.5 million. Alameda County also saw massive enforcement actions, resulting in the seizure of 14,682.14 pounds worth $24.2 million. Butte County eliminated 6,748 pounds of illicit product. Those were valued at $11.1 million.

Southern California authorities targeted networks in Los Angeles County, taking down 4,704 pounds of cannabis worth roughly $7.8 million.

In the state's Central Valley, Stanislaus County rounded out the top five most impacted areas, with teams wiping out 3,693.5 pounds of illegal stock valued at $6.1 million.

The news may surprise some people, but Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches To Marijuana, is not one of them.

“This is exactly what we predicted, and exactly what the legalization lobby promised would never happen,” Sabet said, answering The Center Square's questions by email. “Californians were told a legal, taxed market would wipe out the black market; instead, up to 80% of the marijuana sold in California today comes from the illicit market.”

Sabet added that Newsom has even “admitted that the illegal market has gotten worse, not better,” since legalization.

“Legalization didn't eliminate the criminal element,” said Sabet, whose organization is an alliance of groups and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy.  “It handed cartels and foreign-backed grow operations a legal storefront to hide behind. It's a broken promise, and every state considering legalization should take note.”

Civil and criminal enforcement against the illegal cannabis market is funded by the state's cannabis excise tax at 15%, which will stay at that rate until June 30, 2028, under Assembly Bill 564, according to Newsom's office.

In addition to California's 15% excise tax, cannabis sales are subject to the state's 7.25% sales tax and local sales taxes. So the total tax on sales on cannabis and cannabis-related products in Los Angeles County, where local and state sales taxes add up to 11.3%, would be 28.3%.

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