California Governor’s Office announced on March 4th that in 2024, law enforcement officials in California had seized approximately 534 million dollars worth of illegal or unlicensed cannabis.
The statement from the Governor’s Office indicated that law enforcement teams had executed 425 search warrants throughout the state last year. The enforcement efforts focused on three types of illegal operations: indoor cannabis cultivation, outdoor cannabis cultivation, and cannabis retail, seizing cannabis valued at 269 million dollars, 198 million dollars, and 17 million dollars respectively.
Among the 58 counties in California, the Los Angeles area had the highest number of enforcement actions, resulting in the seizure of cannabis worth 104 million dollars. The second-highest was Alameda County (including the city of Oakland) with seized cannabis valued at 101 million dollars.
Since 2019, officials have carried out over 1,400 illegal cannabis enforcement operations, seizing and destroying approximately 1.6 million pounds of illegal cannabis with an estimated retail value of 2.8 billion dollars. During this period, law enforcement also confiscated 632 firearms and arrested 733 individuals.
Illegal cannabis activities have posed a challenge to the regulated cannabis industry. According to a market outlook report commissioned by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control in January 2025, licensed cannabis businesses in California faced ongoing market challenges from 2021 to 2024. Despite an increase in legal cannabis production, the report noted that wholesale and retail prices have continued to decline since 2020.
In 2024, legal cannabis production in California was around 1.4 million pounds, marking an 11.8% increase from the previous year. However, the report revealed that illegal cannabis production in California was estimated at 11.4 million pounds annually, eight times the legal cannabis output.
In November 2016, California voters passed Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana. The proposition granted local governments the authority to regulate or prohibit commercial marijuana activities, although they could not ban cannabis consumption or transportation within their jurisdictions. The market outlook report highlighted that besides state government collecting regulatory fees and cannabis consumption taxes, some local governments imposed additional restrictions and taxes on cannabis businesses, which could lead to “effective local tax rates exceeding 30%.”
California’s cannabis consumption tax and licensing fees are not only higher than in other states but also surpass the alcohol and tobacco taxes in California. For instance, the report indicated that the state government’s consumption tax and licensing fees on cannabis were approximately 77.5% of the wholesale value, compared to 8.4% and 29.5% for alcohol and tobacco products, respectively.
California has stepped up enforcement efforts to ensure compliance among licensed cannabis operators and combat the illegal market. However, the report pointed out that the “steady rise” in enforcement costs might result in further increases in regulatory fees or taxes.
A survey in June 2023 showed that despite challenges, Californians still held a positive view of marijuana legalization.
Conducted by the California Public Policy Institute, the survey revealed that 64% of Californians believed that marijuana use should be legal. However, when asked whether marijuana retail stores should be established in their communities, only 56% of Californians were in favor.
61% of Californians considered marijuana legalization to be fundamentally beneficial for the state, with 75% of Democrats, 35% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents holding this view.
According to a supplemental report released this week by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control, out of the 539 cities and counties in California, 250 municipalities (46%) have allowed at least one type of cannabis business, while the remaining 54% of cities and counties do not permit any type of cannabis business.