Battling the illegal pot market

It's been 5 years considering that recreational marijuana sales started in California. Many have actually played by the guidelines, but the illegal development and sale of the plant continue to undermine those complying with the laws.

Since its facility in 1983, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) has actually had more than 110 law enforcement agencies involved, making it among the largest law enforcement job forces in the U.S

. Things are altering.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta revealed CAMP seized almost 1 million unlawfully cultivated cannabis plants and more than 200,000 pounds of illegally processed marijuana. Bonta likewise revealed that the Department of Justice will be phasing out CAMP in favor of a year-round multi-agency program, Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC).

What is EPIC

The EPIC program concentrates on the investigation and prosecution of criminal and civil cases connecting to illicit cannabis growing with a focus on ecological and economic harms and labor exploitation.

Starting in 2022, EPIC transitioned the Department of Justice's 30-year seasonal removal program into a year-round job force.

Impressive is a multi-agency partnership led by DOJ in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service; the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service; the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; the U.S. Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration; the California National Guard, Counter Drug Task Force; the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program; California State Parks; and other local law enforcement departments.

Impressive works in close coordination with DOJ's Cannabis Control Section, Special Prosecutions Section and Tax Recovery and Underground Economy Task Force to develop investigations and prosecute criminal and civil cases.





The figures listed above are from the state.

In June 2022, the DEA revealed it seized almost 5 million plants from California in 2021 as part of its Domestic Cannabis Suppression/Eradication Program.

As in past years, the overwhelming portion of plant seizures (86%) and arrests (60%) across the country took place in California.



You can report an illegal organization anonymously online at cannabis.ca.gov

California's divide

Marijuana usage is legal in California, but cities and counties can restrict cannabis organizations.

As an outcome, the state is a patchwork of areas where it is and is illegal to develop a cannabis business.

Proposition 64 passed in 2016 with 57.1% of the citizens in favor of the legalization of marijuana for grownups 21 or older.

You can discover more details about this by utilizing this map. Zoom into your town here.



The Department of Cannabis Control has a list of licensed sellers and a searchable map.

A few of California's laws and charges for cannabis

Sources: California Department of Cannabis Control, State Attorney General's Office, NewFrontierData, Norml.org, MJBizDaily