Since January, California has seized over $316 million in illicit cannabis
What you need to know: California officials continue to protect consumers and support the legal cannabis market through operations to seize 212,681 illegal cannabis plants worth $316 million.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that officials have seized more than $316 million worth of illegal cannabis and $474,000 in cash since January 2025. Through coordinated enforcement actions with state agency partners and local governments, these efforts build upon the previous work to seize $534 million worth of illegal cannabis in 2024.
In addition to confiscating 212,681 illicit cannabis plants, officials issued 99 warrants, which resulted in the removal of 35 firearms and 29 arrests.
“As California’s legal cannabis market expands, we have a responsibility to crack down on the nefarious actors that put public health at risk and undermine the progress we’ve made. Unlicensed, unregulated products threaten consumer safety and jeopardize the integrity of this industry. We’re doubling down on our commitment to protect Californians and lift up the legal cannabis marketplace that so many have worked hard to build.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
These figures represent combined enforcement efforts from the Governor’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF), the Department of Fish & Wildlife (DFW), the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Department of Pesticide Regulations, Torrance Police Department, Alameda District Attorney’s Office, Oakland Police Department, among others, since January.
California’s regulated cannabis market is the largest in the world, fostering environmental stewardship, compliance-tested products, and fair labor practices, while driving economic growth and funding vital programs in education, public health, and environmental protection. The Department of Cannabis Control recently released a market outlook report that shows prices are stable, industry value is up, and the licensed market is growing.
A unified strategy across California
Since 2019, officials have seized and destroyed over 800 tons, or over 1.7 million pounds, of illegal cannabis worth an estimated retail value of $3.1 billion through over 1,500 operations.
The cannabis task force was established in 2022 by Governor Newsom to enhance collaboration and enforcement coordination between state, local, and federal partners. Partners on the task force include the Department of Cannabis Control, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, among others.
Protecting California’s consumers
In September, Governor Newsom announced emergency hemp regulations in response to increasing health incidents related to intoxicating hemp food and beverage products, which state regulators found sold across the state. The new regulations ban any detectable quantity of THC from consumable hemp products to protect youth and mitigate the risk of adverse health effects. The emergency regulations better align the sale of hemp products with certain restrictions currently seen in the California legal cannabis market by limiting serving and package size and establishing a minimum age of 21 to legally purchase industrial hemp food, beverage and dietary products.
In October, Governor Newsom issued a statement following the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s recent decision to reject the hemp industry’s attempt to block enforcement of the regulations.
Since the emergency hemp regulations were put in place, agents from California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control have visited 9,251 locations and seized 7,007 hemp products from 141 violators.
To learn more about the legal California cannabis market, state licenses, and laws, visit cannabis.ca.gov.