The state’s illegal market had flourished for decades, anchored in the storied “Emerald Triangle” region in the northern end of the state. Dicus said in 2023 his department served 411 search warrants for illegal marijuana grow sites countywide and recovered $370 million. “The reality is that Proposition 64, in the fine print, took illicit marijuana and moved it from a felony to a misdemeanor. In 2020, seven people were fatally shot at an illegal marijuana growing operation in a rural town in neighboring Riverside County. “We've invited organized crime to come back into California and compete for an illicit market.”

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