California Cracks Down on Cannabis Without a License

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state “doubles down” in its commitment to protecting residents from non-licensed and unregulated marijuana products.

In an update In a report published by Governor Newsom last week, he said that officials had seized $316,000,000 worth of illicit cannabis since January and $474,000. This is on top of the $534,000,000 worth of cannabis illegally seized in 2020. Since January, officials have seized 212,681 illegal cannabis plants and 99 warrants, which resulted 35 firearms being removed and 29 people arrested.

As California’s cannabis legal market grows, Governor Newsom said that we must crackdown on those who put the public’s health in danger and undercut the progress made. Unlicensed and unregulated products are dangerous to consumers’ safety, as well as compromising the integrity of our industry.

In more than 1 500 operations since 2019, the government has seized over 800 tons worth $3.1 Billion in illegal cannabis.

The governor established the cannabis task force in 2022 to enhance collaboration and enforcement coordination with California’s local, state, and federal partners. In September of last year, Governor Newsom issued emergency hemp regulations to combat the widespread availability in California of intoxicating hemp-based food and beverages. In the last month, Governor Newsom announced that these emergency regulations will be renewed.

California Alcoholic Beverage Control has seized 7007 hemp-based products from 141 offenders since the emergency regulations on hemp were enacted.

California’s cannabis market is the biggest in the United States, despite the difficult conditions that have existed since 2021. While difficult to estimate a report According to a study conducted by ERA Economics, LLC in collaboration with the California Department of Cannabis Control and released in early January of 2018, 11.4 millions pounds of non-licensed cannabis are produced each year in California.

The total retail volume for almost all categories of products was higher in 2024 than in 2019. This indicates that the decline in total dollars was due to lower prices. The illicit market is one of the main factors that contribute to the lower price.

The report stated the share of total consumption supplied by the licensed market continues to be stable at about 40 percent – so there’s still plenty of work to be done in reining in the illicit market.