LOS ANGELES (AP) — The largest illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County history — which netted 373,000 plants that would ultimately have been worth $1 billion on the street — eradicated only a fraction of the illicit grows in the Southern California high desert, authorities said Wednesday.
The problem is wide-ranging in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles, officials said, and has grown tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic. Armed cartel members run massive illegal grows, some spanning dozens of greenhouses, that are detrimental to the state’s legal marijuana market.
Multiple law enforcement agencies carried out a 10-day operation in the Antelope Valley last month that resulted in 131 arrests and the seizure of more than 33,000 pounds of harvested marijuana plants.
Yet the undertaking only demolished 205 illegal grows out of the 500 seen by aerial surveillance in the area. Last year, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said only 150 illegal grows were identified in the Antelope Valley. Scores more exist in other nearby counties.
The cartel members threaten residents and steal millions of gallons of water amid a severe drought, Villanueva said. The growing operations have poisoned streams and groundwater with harmful pesticides and harmed wildlife and plants.
California broadly legalized recreational marijuana sales in January 2018. But the black market is thriving, in part because hefty legal marijuana taxes send consumers looking for better deals.
Officials sought to differentiate between the Antelope Valley operation and the legal market.
“This is not a war on the legal cannabis business in California,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia, who represents the area.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger stand in front of confiscated firearms, as he points to a picture of some 500 illegal pot operations at a news conference downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Authorities seized tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal marijuana grown in the high desert as part of an effort to curtail the black market’s grip on Southern California. Twenty-three people were arrested in the crackdown Tuesday in the Antelope Valley, 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and officials planned to bulldoze 500 illegal grows in the area over the coming days. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 
Rex Parris, City of Lancaster Mayor, at the podium, lifts a firearm at a news conference for the Antelope Valley Marijuana Eradication Operation downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, July 7, 2021. From left, Mike Garcia, U.S. Rep. (CA-R) 25th District, Mayor Parris, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Authorities seized tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal marijuana grown in the high desert Tuesday as part of an effort to curtail the black market’s grip on Southern California. Twenty-three people were arrested in the crackdown Tuesday in the Antelope Valley, 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and officials planned to bulldoze 500 illegal grows in the area over the coming days. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva shows one of the 150 illegal marijuana cultivations found in Puzzle Caynon in Los Angeles County, during a flight reconnaissance, part of the Antelope Valley Marijuana Eradication Operation at a news conference downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Authorities seized tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal marijuana grown in the high desert Tuesday as part of an effort to curtail the black market’s grip on Southern California. Twenty-three people were arrested in the crackdown Tuesday in the Antelope Valley, 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and officials planned to bulldoze 500 illegal grows in the area over the coming days. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)