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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife supported a wide array of activities in 2025 to help reduce and address environmental impacts associated with cannabis cultivation in California—including awarding millions of dollars in grants, investigating and documenting hundreds of environmental violations, and making hundreds of compliance visits to cannabis cultivation sites.

Underscoring the value of the state’s effort to protect public safety and reinforce a regulated cannabis marketplace, today Governor Gavin Newsom announced state officers have seized and destroyed more than $1.2 billion in illicit cannabis products through the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF).

As California continues to crack down on the illicit cannabis market, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced three major enforcement operations conducted in November that yielded major results, including eradicating 58,358 plants and seizing about three tons of processed cannabis worth an estimated $56.5 million.

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California’s cannabis enforcement efforts led to the seizure and destruction of over $222 million worth of illegal cannabis from July to September 2025.

During July and August, a specialized law enforcement team at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) conducted raids on six illegal cannabis grow sites hidden within sensitive habitats and watersheds in five California counties.