By james art 
Uncovering the Dark Side of Illegal Cannabis in California
This video highlights the environmental and regulatory issues arising from illegal marijuana cultivation sites in California.
Nearly 775,000 illegally cultivated cannabis plants across the state were destroyed in a collaborative effort by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office and local and federal law enforcement partners.
The enforcement is part of the Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC) program, Bonta announced this month.
In addition to the plants, 106,141 pounds of processed cannabis were seized and 282 arrests were made in 36 different counties in California, including San Bernardino County. The total underground market value for these seizures is estimated at approximately $353 million, Bonta said.
EPIC is an interagency task force focused on combating the illegal cannabis market and cannabis law enforcement work, as well as investigating and prosecuting civil and criminal cases with an emphasis on the environmental, economic and labor impacts of illegal cultivation, state officials said .
“Cannabis law enforcement in California must go a long way to ensure that illegal cannabis does not reach the legal market,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dickus. “Partnerships like EPIC are a big step forward in addressing this problem.”
Bonta added that California has the largest safe, legal and regulated cannabis market in the world, but unfortunately illegal and unlicensed plants continue to proliferate.
“The EPIC program was forged out of our recognition of the need for a more comprehensive approach that addresses the broader implications of the cannabis underground market,” Bonta said. “This includes addressing the environmental damage caused by these illegal activities, as well as the economic consequences arising from unregulated cultivation. Additionally, there is growing concern about labor exploitation within this underground market, where workers may face unsafe conditions and unfair treatment.
Bonta thanked the partners involved in this effort.
“Together, we are working toward a solution that not only curbs illegal activities, but also promotes a sustainable and fair cannabis industry in the state,” Bonta said.
Throughout the 2024 season, EPIC teams operating in Northern, Central and Southern California performed 665 surgeries.
Illegal growing as ‘serious threat’ to California public park lands
The teams found 201 weapons and removed infrastructure, including dams, water mains and containers of toxic chemicals such as carbofuran, methyl parathion, aluminum phosphate, zinc phosphide and illegal fertilizers, state officials said.
Carbofuran, in particular, poses an untold risk to public health, state officials said. A deadly insecticide that is banned in the United States, carbofuran remains on plants after application and seeps into soil and nearby water sources.
Many of these illegal grow sites are located on public lands.
California has the largest state park system in the country, with 1.59 million acres of park land to protect, according to Jeremy Stinson, assistant chief of enforcement for California State Parks.
“Unfortunately, illegal cannabis cultivation is a serious threat to this land with more than 400 documented locations,” Stinson said. “Protecting our state’s natural resources for all Californians and future generations is an important part of our mission. We look forward to continuing this valuable partnership to preserve and protect California’s state park system.”
Eradication of growth sites
In 2024, EPIC operations were conducted in the following 36 counties:
- Alameda: 1 location, 751 plants destroyed
- Butte: 5 locations, 4,397 plants destroyed
- Colusa: 3 locations, 10 plants destroyed
- Contra Costa: 2 locations, 5,010 plants destroyed
- El Dorado: 8 locations, 2,174 plants destroyed
- Fresno: 31 locations, 52,796 plants destroyed
- Glenn: 1 location, 747 plants destroyed
- Kern: 60 locations, 89,819 plants destroyed
- Kings: 1 place, 539 plants destroyed
- Lake: 48 locations, 42,776 plants destroyed
- Lassen: 1 location, 7,359 plants destroyed
- Los Angeles: 3 locations, 3,684 plants destroyed
- Madera: 3 locations, 1230 plants destroyed
- Mariposa: 2 locations, 1,368 plants destroyed
- Mendocino: 116 locations, 133,702 plants destroyed
- Nevada: 33 locations, 28,428 plants destroyed
- Coastline: 79 locations, 136,601 plants destroyed
- Sacramento: 13 locations, 46,042 plants destroyed
- San Bernardino: 23 locations, 27,845 plants destroyed
- San Diego: 7 locations, 9,301 plants destroyed
- Santa Barbara: 1 location, 362 plants destroyed
- Santa Clara: 2 locations, 1,012 plants destroyed
- Shasta: 67 locations, 51,289 plants destroyed
- Siskiyou: 98 locations, 67,943 plants destroyed
- Stanislav: 6 places, 5103 plants destroyed
- Trinity: 38 locations, 32,381 plants destroyed
- Tulare: 7 locations, 5,468 plants destroyed
- Tuolumne: 2 locations, 7,637 plants destroyed
- Ventura: 3 locations, 7,891 plants destroyed
- Yuba: 2 locations, 1164 plants destroyed
- Monterey: Reconnaissance only
- Napa: Intelligence only
- San Benito: reconnaissance only
- San Luis Obispo: Reconnaissance only
- Santa Cruz: reconnaissance only
- Solano: intelligence only