On 21 October 2024 Attorney General Rob Bonta said EPIC teams had eradicated 774,829 illegally cultivated cannabis plants, seized 106,141 pounds (about 48.1 tonnes) of processed cannabis and made 282 arrests during the 2024 season, valuing the seizures at about $353 million on the underground market.[1][2] EPIC is a multi-agency task force led by the Department of Justice that targets unlicensed cultivation tied to environmental damage, lost tax revenue and labour exploitation.[1]
Operations
EPIC teams in Northern, Central and Southern California conducted 665 operations, recovered 201 weapons and removed infrastructure including dams, water lines and containers of toxic pesticides such as carbofuran, which the release notes is effectively banned in the United States yet seeps into soil and water near grow sites.[1] Riverside County led the year with 136,601 plants eradicated at 79 sites, followed by Mendocino with 133,702 plants at 116 sites and Kern with 89,819 plants at 60 sites.[1] Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz and Solano saw reconnaissance only without reported eradication totals.[1]
Partners
Bonta credited local, state and federal partners including the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, California State Parks, Fish and Wildlife, the DEA, the National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and local sheriffs.[1] San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said illicit cannabis keeps leaking into the legal market and called partnerships like EPIC a major step forward.[1]
