“Sheriff’s Department! Search Warrant,” shout armed officers as they enter a property in the heart of the Californian desert, where they soon find hundreds of illegal cannabis plants.
After a public referendum, marijuana was made entirely legal in the state in 2016. Supporters of the law stated this would stop the state’s substantial illicit market, as well as the crime and annoyance it brought with it.
In actuality, the industry has flourished as a result of illicit growers being drawn in by the prospect of large profits for operators who don’t have to worry about regulations, licenses, or even paying for their water.
“Right around 2016, when laws started to change, there was a huge increase of illegal cultivations,” Sergeant Chris Morsch told AFP during a recent raid.
“The model definitely was not perfect.”
Every week, six to ten raids are conducted by Morsch and his colleagues from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, dismantling some of the hundreds of greenhouses scattered across the Mojave Desert, east of Los Angeles.
Growers can nurture their crop year-round thanks to the facilities, and every few months they can harvest a profitable crop.
“This could bring upwards of $600 per pound” (450 grams) in California once the flowers are processed, said Sergeant Chris Bassett, noting that in states where recreational marijuana is illegal “you’re looking at triple the price.”
A small number of industrial-sized greenhouses can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
