California struggles to stop illegal marijuana

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California authorities have tripled the number of raids on unlicensed cannabis shops in the last year and seized $30 million in pot products, but legal industry leaders say enforcement is still inadequate to break the dominance of the black market in the state.

In 2018, the first year of licensing, the state Bureau of Cannabis Control worked with local law enforcement to serve six search warrants on unlicensed pot shops and seized some 1,594 pounds of cannabis worth $13.5 million.

During the first six months of this year, the bureau served 19 search warrants on unlicensed sellers, confiscating more than 2,500 pounds of illegal marijuana products with a retail value of $16.5 million, according to data released last week.

But industry officials say there are still thousands of illegal cannabis growers and sellers in California, a black market some predicted would be curbed when California voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016, allowing statelicensed firms to grow and sell marijuana for recreational purposes.

Despite the uptick in enforcement efforts, the number of actions so far “is severely inadequate,” according to the California Cannabis Industry Association.

There are thousands of unlicensed retailers operating so there should have been at least hundreds of enforcement actions so far, said Lindsay Robinson, executive director of the association.

The state had a year to create a new bureau to draft regulations and procedures to license the new cannabis market and state officials have acknowledged problems, including the refusal of most cities to allow cannabis sales, that have led to many fewer licenses than expected.

A new audit by the state Department of Finance also concluded that the bureau’s staffing and facilities are “not sustainable to provide effective and comprehensive oversight of cannabis activities throughout California.”

Auditors said a recent check found the bureau’s Enforcement Unit had filled only 15 of its 68 authorized positions. The bureau says it has filled 26 positions so far — still less than half those authorized.

Bureau officials note their first year was focused primarily on creating, staffing and implementing a complex licensing system. But there are also other issues that are an impediment.