Black market cannabis thrives in California despite legalization

Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with Long Beach law enforcement, prepare to serve a search warrant on an unlicensed marijuana store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. Last year California's Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce served more than 300 search warrants on unlicensed operations in the state.half the country

"The black market is very pervasive and it's definitely larger than the legal market," says Bill Jones, the head of enforcement for the state's Department of Cannabis Control. In California, the DCC is now trying to close the gap. It gathers anonymous tips about unlicensed cannabis stores, which operate semi-openly out of storefronts that aren't hard to identify.

These raids have ramped up in the last couple of years, especially in Los Angeles. Some of the unlicensed retailers have shifted toward delivery services. But the penalty for getting caught selling unlicensed marijuana is relatively light — usually a $500 fine, unless the person has broken other laws — and Linares says his officers find themselves raiding the same storefronts over and over again.

The black market in California also benefits from the restrictions on the licensed competitors, such as the fact that only aboutCalifornia cannabis buyers are often unaware of — or indifferent to — the legality of the product they buy, but they do notice prices. Depending on the jurisdiction,California Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with support of Long Beach Law enforcement serve a search warrant and remove cannabis products at an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif.

Riverside County Sheriff Department Sergeant Jeremy Parsons collects cannabis clippings and firearms from an unlicensed greenhouse in Perris, CA. "That's what we're charging these people with: water contamination, pesticides that are illegal, the fertilizers that are illegal. That's where we're getting people," says Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.

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