According to press release from the office of Governor Gavin Newsom.

The operations were conducted by the California Unified Cannabis Task Force (UCETF), which was created by Newsom in 2022 to coordinate state, local and federal enforcement against the illegal cannabis market. During the three-month period, officials seized 63,204 pounds of illegal cannabis worth more than $104 million, destroyed 89,257 cannabis plants, confiscated 17 firearms, seized $220,923 in cash and made 24 arrests. Enforcement actions were involved in 10 counties.

Since the task force’s inception, California officials claimed that operations coordinated by the UCETF have seized and destroyed more than 841,000 pounds of illegal cannabis, including 1.3 million plants. The task force has served more than 750 search warrants in 29 counties, leading to 100 arrests and the seizure of more than $2.8 million in cash and more than 250 firearms.

The largest recent enforcement action took place from May 14 to June 3 in Tulare, Kern and Los Angeles counties. Led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the operation included 26 search warrants in illegal cannabis areas, where investigators found environmental violations and banned, unregistered or foreign labeled pesticides in or suspected of 13 cultivation areas.

The counties most affected by enforcement during the quarter were Kern, Alameda, Butte, Los Angeles and Stanislaus counties. Officials also cited major operations in Riverside, Los Angeles, Butte and Ventura counties involving illegal cultivation, environmental violations, firearms and suspected organized crime.

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