What you need to know: The passage of Proposition 1 by California voters adds rocket fuel to Governor Gavin Newsom’s transformational overhaul of the state’s behavioral health system. These reforms refocus existing funds to prioritize Californians with the most serious mental health and substance use issues, who are too often experiencing homelessness. They also fund more than 11,150 new behavioral health beds and supportive housing units and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots.

SACRAMENTO - Continuing the administration’s efforts to support consumer safety and California’s legal cannabis market, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) recently seized close to $23 million in illicitly cultivated cannabis in East Oakland.

“The recent operations in East Oakland are a further proof point of California’s dedication to protect consumers and legal cannabis growers while holding those who attempt to undermine the state’s cannabis market accountable.” - Governor Gavin Newsom

In the operations, UCETF seized over 21,000 illegal cannabis plants worth a total of $17.8 million. The searches also led to the seizure of more than $10,000 in cash, as well as over 3,000 pounds of illicit cannabis flower worth more than $5 million.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) led the enforcement operations with support from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and the Oakland Police Department.

“This successful operation, led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is one of several recent efforts by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and preserve the integrity of California’s regulated cannabis market,” said Nathaniel Arnold, Chief of Law Enforcement at CDFW. “As shown by the amounts seized in these search warrants, these large-scale illegal operations are a burden on California’s valuable environmental resources and need to be removed.”

Last month, UCETF served concurrent search warrants in East Oakland and Hayward that removed almost $20 million in illegal cannabis and cannabis products from the illicit market.

In 2022, Governor Newsom created the UCETF to further align state efforts and increase cannabis enforcement coordination between state, local, and federal partners.  The enforcement actions protect consumer and public safety, safeguard the environment, and deprive illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue that harms consumers and undercuts the regulated cannabis market in California.

Since inception, UCETF has seized and destroyed over 162 tons worth of illegal cannabis worth an estimated $536 million through over 350 operations. The taskforce has also eradicated 526,037 plants, seized 167 firearms, and arrested 59 individuals.