California governor Gavin Newsom’s recently established Unified Enforcement Task Force (UCETF) in an effort to crack down on illegal marijuana operations, which have been an ongoing problem in the state for a while now. Guided by the Department of Cannabis Control’s (DCC) Law Enforcement Division and Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) the task force eradicated 11,260 illegal cannabis plants in the rural area of Jupiter in Tuolumne County on October 4, according to a report from the governor’s office.
In addition to more than eleven thousand cannabis plants, the task force destroyed 5,237lbs. of illegally processed marijuana flower. In total, the operation eradicated more than $15 million worth of illicit cannabis, per DCC data DCC.
“California is taking immediate and aggressive action to stop illegal cannabis and strengthen the burgeoning legal market throughout the state,” Newsom stated. “By shutting down illegal grow sites and applying serious consequences to offenders, we are working to curtail the criminal organizations that are undercutting the regulated cannabis market in California.”
In June, Newsom pushed for the formation of this new multi-agency and cross-jurisdictional task force to resolve this recurring problem.
“These operations and the criminal and financial penalties that will ultimately result from them reflect the importance and strength in a whole-of-government approach to combat criminally led enterprises, unfair competition and consumer and environmental threats,” said Nicole Elliott, DCC director.
Attorney General Also Working Hard
The news comes on the heels of California AG Rob Bonta's new approach to eliminating illegal cannabis farms after this year’s eradication program seized almost one million marijuana plants.
Under the plan, the annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) program initiated under Governor George Deukmejian (R) in 1983 will be transformed into a permanent Eradication and Prevention Of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC) task force, Bonta said Thursday.
Bonta, a Democrat running for election to his first full term in November, confirmed that the nearly one million seized plants were valued at $1 billion and that more than 100 tons of processed cannabis, 184 weapons and some 22 tons of materials used to grow the plants were also seized. That haul included dams, water lines and toxic chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers.
Ongoing Problem
Illegal cannabis grows in the Sunshine State have been affecting the environment for many years. Just recently, Congress members Scott Peters (D-CA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) introduced legislation that seeks to crack down on the use of banned pesticides on illegal marijuana grows on public land.
The bill called the Targeting and Offsetting Existing Illegal Contaminants (TOXIC) Act was drafted to address and rectify environmental damage being done by illegal pesticides. According to an official statement from LaMalfa’s office, TOXIC also raises criminal penalties for those who grow cannabis on federal land and use banned pesticides.
It is important to note that banned pesticides are banned for a reason: they're dangerous. Consumers who consume even small amounts of marijuana treated with these substances could potentially die.
The bill’s introduction came several months after the California county sheriff called for a state of emergency over illegal cannabis grows.
Photo: Benzinga Edit; Sources: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons and 2H Media on Unsplash
