Governor Gavin Newsom announced on 10 July 2025 that California seized $476 million of unlicensed cannabis between April and June through the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF).[1][2] The quarter’s operations eradicated 413,302 plants and seized 185,873 pounds (about 84.3 tonnes) of processed cannabis, serving 214 warrants, taking 77 firearms and making 93 arrests.[1][2] The task force is co-led by the Department of Cannabis Control and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.[1][2]

The quarter included the task force’s largest operation to date: a May sweep across 4,600 square miles of the Central Valley in which 200 officers served 71 warrants, taking 105,700 plants and 22,057 pounds valued at $123.5 million plus nine firearms.[1][2] Newsom said the state would not tolerate growers who undermine the legal market, and enforcement chiefs said operations would continue until unlicensed growing ends.[1][2] Since 2019 the state has seized over 1.9 million pounds of illegal cannabis with an estimated street value of $3.6 billion.[2]