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California’s legal weed industry faces a wave of turmoil
California had high hopes when voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2016. But my colleagues have been uncovering a host of problems that have plagued the industry, from contaminated cannabis to the booming underground market.
Stepping back and looking at the forest and not the trees — the joint and not the smoke, if you will — their findings have raised three big issues about the state of the industry: the state’s ability to ensure legal weed is face, a booming black market and increased competition from other states.
An L.A. Times/WeedWeek investigation found alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products at dispensaries across the state.
(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Photos via Getty Images)
A growing scandal over pesticides in pot
The legal weed industry is reeling over the state’s failure to keep pesticides out of products found on dispensary shelves throughout California, my colleague Paige St. John reported this week.
A Times investigation in June found alarming levels of pesticides in popular vapes and other items, throwing into question the state’s ability to protect consumers from unsafe products. These dangerous chemicals can have severe health consequences, such as heart failure, neurological damage and birth defects.
Since that investigation, a whistleblower has sued the state, a top cannabis official resigned and the state hired a private investigator, Paige reports. And in the background, industry leaders have raced to create a shadow regulatory system to help restore consumer confidence.
“There’s an understanding if we don’t clean this up, people are not going to buy in the regulated market,” Tiffany Devitt, a lobbyist for the March and Ash dispensary chain, told Paige.
The underground market shows no sign of slowing down, as highlighted by ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Los Angeles County prosecutors say a young couple — Gabriella Tovar and Jesus Mendoza — targeted four cannabis dispensaries during a six-week-long spree. Detectives dubbed the case file “Romeo and Juliet,” with authorities characterizing the two as partners in romance and in crime.
Yes, I am aware this story sounds like something ripped out of a pulp novel, but there’s a deeper issue at play here.
The couple are accused of specifically robbing unlicensed dispensaries, which sell pot at cheaper prices than legal businesses by dodging taxes and state testing requirements. Illegal dispensaries are also less likely to call the police, making them targets for extortion and robbery.
“Testimony and video of the takeover-style heists offered a startling example of the violence that shadows California’s booming cannabis black market,” my colleague Matthew Ormseth reported.
The state’s underground market remains a formidable competitor to the legal weed industry. A series of Times investigations in 2022 found the black market saw an explosion of growth after the legalization of recreational cannabis, resulting in the exploitation of farmworkers who labor in squalid, deadly conditions.
In July, authorities raided illegal cannabis grow sites near a pair of state parks, seizing more than 5,200 plants and 14 firearms, including two assault weapons.
California begins to lose ground to … Michigan?
Facing a booming black market, steep taxes and strict regulations, California’s legal weed industry is under-performing.
These compounding problems have allowed Michigan, which legalized recreational sales in 2018, to surpass California last year as the largest cannabis market in the country by sales volume, my colleague Connor Sheets reports.
Michigan has a couple of advantages. It’s located near states like Indiana and Wisconsin, where even medical marijuana remains illegal. California, on the other hand, is surrounded by states that have legalized cannabis.
But taxes are also more lenient in Michigan, allowing dispensaries to charge much less and drive up demand from consumers.
It’s gotten to the point where regular candy from a corner store is more expensive than dispensary products that contain THC, said Randy Buchman, founder of Pleasantrees, a cannabis company headquartered in a Detroit suburb.
“You can get a 200-milligram pack of gummies in any store here for $2,” he said. “You can’t buy Haribo gummies for that price.”
The week’s biggest stories
An image of a broken heart, affixed across the street from City Hall, captures the mood of many residents in Springfield, Ohio, since anti-Haitian rumors began to spread.
(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
How Trump’s lies about pet-eating migrants brought misery to Springfield, Ohio
- Haitians in Springfield are not the only ones feeling threatened in the wake of false accusations that they are eating their neighbors’ pets. Across town, people are anxious about what’s next.
- Meanwhile in Texas, a county has been shaken by a civil war between traditional Republicans and a far-right faction of the party energized by Trump’s brash brand of politics.
- This bellwether county in Washington state picked 11 straight presidential winners. Columnist Mark Z. Barabak looks at how it views Trump vs. Harris.
- Trump’s politics of hate have come for Taylor Swift, columnist Robin Abcarian writes.
A wall of secrets may crumble as feds call out enablers of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ alleged sex crimes
- Combs was the only defendant indicted this week in a sweeping sex trafficking and racketeering investigation. But federal prosecutors made clear that they do not believe he was the only one responsible.
- Combs, who is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., was placed on suicide watch, which is routine in high-profile cases and meant to protect the hip-hop music mogul, sources said.
- Meanwhile, a sex trafficking expert analyzes the allegations against Combs — and explains what the indictment means about our changing views on how sex trafficking works.
- And enough with the lube jokes, columnist Mary McNamara writes. The charges against Combs are no laughing matter.
A river dried up abruptly in Bakersfield, leaving thousands of dead fish
- A sudden shutoff of water supplies has dried up the Kern River in Bakersfield, leaving thousands of dead fish on the parched riverbed. Some compared the rapid desiccation to the effect of turning off a giant faucet.
- California wildlife officials are now investigating whether the drying of the river constitutes a violation of state law.
Inside the unforgettable night Shohei Ohtani made baseball history
More big stories
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This week’s great reads
(Ryan Schude/For The Times)
How a single mom turned a converted school bus into a dreamy live-work haven in Ojai. Tie-dye artist and former model Laura La Rue is raising her 16-month-old daughter in a former school bus. “I’m trying to be present for my daughter,” she says.
More great reads
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your weekend
The al pastor taco at Tacos Por Vida is among the best in L.A., our critics write.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.
(Times staff and wire photos)
According to a recent study, in what way are Catalina Island’s rattlesnakes markedly different from their mainland counterparts? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
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