Officials have uncovered several illegal marijuana farms, hundreds of illegal delivery services and pot shops and seized millions of dollars’ worth of cannabis products in California, where the soft drug has been legalised, New York Times reported.

Officials said that the unlicensed and illegal marijuana market is booming and is even expanding in certain areas in California. Recently, officials in San Francisco uncovered an illegal cannabis production facility in Mendocino County which was processing 500 pounds of cannabis a day, according to the report.
“There’s a lot of money to be made in the black market,” Thomas D. Allman, the sheriff of Mendocino County was quoted as saying. In early April, Allman led a raid that uncovered illegal cannabis oil worth more than USD 5 million.
The illegal market in California is unique. Colorado, Oregon and Washington have not had the same issues with an expanding illegal cannabis market, New York Times reported. The growth of illicit sales of cannabis products by illegal shops has also forced some licensed companies out of business.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego have laws allowing cannabis businesses, but most smaller cities and towns in the state do not, which regulators cite as one of many reasons for the state’s growing illegal market, according to the report.
The department destroyed roughly 1.6 million illegal grown marijuana plants in 2018. The amount of illegal grown plants in 2018 was up from 700,000 in 2017 and 800,000 in 2016, New York Times reported.