California Sees 1.2 Million Cannabis Plants From Illegal Farms Destroyed in 2021
California Sees 1.2 Million Cannabis Plants From Illegal Farms Destroyed in 2021

1.2 Million Cannabis Plants Destroyed in California From Illegal Farms This Year

California law enforcement razed over one million cannabis plants since the start of 2021. Efforts to snuff out illegal cannabis farms are a part of the statewide Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP). Through nearly 500 separate operations by law enforcement, CAMP collectively seized more than 180,000 pounds of harvested weed.

Illegal Cannabis in California

The news comes from California Attorney General Rob Bonta this Monday. Throughout 26 counties during an undisclosed 13-week period, CAMP officials and officers worked together to bring halts to illegal farms. Alongside the weed confiscated, 67,000 pounds of dams, toxic chemicals, and other cultivation infrastructure were also seized. Additionally, 165 weapons were acquired.

Cannabis enforcers and environmentalists find common ground on this issue. Not only do illegal cannabis farms subtract from legal market revenue and taxes, but they’ve consistently used toxic cultivation methods that can harm adjacent wildlife. Bonta is also ordering his office to investigate the effectiveness of the CAMP program to ensure these issues are properly handled from here on out.

Over One Million Plants in One Year

CAMP operations pulled 1.2 million illegal cannabis plants throughout California in 2021. The illegal farms, dismantled and expunged of toxic chemicals, were located on public and private lands. Several raids took place in Sequoia, Los Padres, San Bernardino, Cleveland, Sierra, Shasta-Trinity, and Klamath National Forests.

“From dumping toxic chemicals in our waterways to cheating the state out of millions of tax dollars, illicit marijuana grows have far-reaching impacts and unintended consequences,” Bonta said in the announcement Monday. “I want to thank all of our federal, state and local partners for their tireless efforts this season. It’s going to take all of us, working together, to make sure California’s cannabis industry is in the legal, regulated marketplace, not in the illicit one.”

CAMP itself is not one organization, but rather several agencies. The so-called task force was formed way back in 1983. The California Department of Justice leads CAMP operations in collaboration with the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the California National Guard, and several other agencies on local, state, and federal levels.

California Sees 1.2 Million Cannabis Plants From Illegal Farms Destroyed in 2021
1.2 Million Cannabis Plants Destroyed in California From Illegal Farms This Year

via Unsplash

The Negative Impact of Illegal Cannabis Farms on the Environment

Unregulated cannabis farming is exactly what it sounds like. According to Dr. Greta Wengert, executive director of the Integral Ecology Research Center, illegal cannabis farms haven’t wavered in their use of banned pesticides and depletive irrigation methods since 2012. Poaching wildlife, diverting streams, and recklessly depositing chemicals has an undeniable impact on the biosphere.

Researchers also estimate that just one cannabis plant may need up to six gallons of water every day. In an ongoing drought, local farmers particularly express concern about the theft of natural water.

In light of these findings, and with a legal cannabis market in full swing, it’s safe to say illegal weed farming does little good for few people. Attorney General Bonta, however, wishes not only to protect the state’s weed industry, but to integrate the share stolen by illegal businesses.

“We want that market,” Bonta said, according to LA Times. “For more and more to enter – to leave the illicit marketplace and enter the legal marketplace.”

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