San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators stumbled upon what can only be described as California’s latest black-market jackpot: over 90,000 pounds of illegal marijuana valued at a staggering $100 million. The discovery was made at a five-acre property in Oak Hills, about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, as part of an investigation into illegal marijuana cultivation. The operation wasn’t some quaint mom-and-pop garden, either. According to Sheriff Shannon Dicus, this was the work of organized criminal enterprises, possibly cartel-run operations that are running roughshod over California’s already broken cannabis system.
The sheriff’s marijuana enforcement team served a search warrant at the property on Honeyhill Road, where they discovered a massive 120-foot by 40-foot metal building stuffed with over 3,000 trash bags of processed marijuana. These weren’t just little dime bags, folks. Each one weighed between 30 and 50 pounds and was stacked 12 feet high, filling the building end-to-end. It took 51 truckloads over two days to haul away the mountain of pot. If that doesn’t scream industrialized crime, what does?
And while the bust itself was impressive, here’s the kicker: no arrests have been made. That’s right. As of now, the criminal masterminds behind this operation are still out there, probably laughing all the way to their offshore bank accounts. This is what happens when you have a state government more interested in virtue-signaling and lining its own coffers than enforcing the rule of law.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, ever the master of self-congratulation, was quick to tout his administration’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force, which has reportedly seized $191 million in illegal cannabis this year. But let’s not forget: this is the same Gavin Newsom whose policies created the very black-market explosion he now pretends to fight. By over-regulating and over-taxing the legal cannabis industry, Newsom has made it nearly impossible for legal growers to compete, effectively handing the market over to cartels and criminals.
Illegal operations like this don’t just hurt the state’s legal businesses. They harm the environment with illegal pesticides and water theft, devastate local communities with crime, and funnel untold millions into organized crime networks. But don’t expect California Democrats to admit their policies are part of the problem. No, they’ll keep blaming the usual suspects—probably climate change or systemic inequities—while patting themselves on the back for “getting tough” with flashy task forces and photo-op raids.
The bottom line? California needs real leadership, not more Newsom-style grandstanding. President-elect Donald Trump’s tough-on-crime approach will bring a welcome contrast to this chaos. Under Trump’s leadership, the cartels and criminal organizations operating on U.S. soil will finally meet the justice they deserve. While Democrats like Newsom let crime flourish, Republicans will restore law and order. January 20th can’t come soon enough.
