Production - Northern California HIDTA Drug Market Analysis

Cannabis cultivation and marijuana production operations are extensive and increasing in magnitude throughout the Northern California HIDTA region. As a result, the area is becoming one of the most significant cannabis cultivation areas in the nation. More than 3.8 million cannabis plants were eradicated in California in 2006 from outdoor and indoor grow sites.⁴ This is a 27 percent increase from the 3,021,240 plants seized in 2005. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, the number of plants seized at both outdoor and indoor grow sites in the HIDTA region has significantly increased over the past 4 years. (See Table 1.) The number of outdoor plants seized increased from 49,174 in 2003 to 717,740 in 2006. The number of indoor plants seized increased from 3,364 in 2003 to 64,142 in 2006. Illegal cannabis cultivation generates millions of dollars in criminal revenue. As such, in 2006 the Northern California HIDTA surpassed all prior years in asset seizures from illegal grows.

Table 1. Number of Cannabis Plants Seized
and Percentage of Change in Northern California HIDTA, 2003-2006

Outdoor cannabis cultivation is increasing significantly in the HIDTA region. Large outdoor cannabis grow sites are generally cultivated in counties that encompass extensive remote locations, public lands, and rural areas such as Lake, Sonoma, and Santa Clara Counties. These counties rank among the top 10 counties in the state for cannabis cultivation. Mexican DTOs control most large outdoor cannabis grow sites in the region. They typically employ illegal aliens to tend crop sites, provide protection from intruders (including law enforcement), and harvest the cannabis as payment for their entry into the United States. Recent law enforcement reporting indicates that some Mexican groups are also cultivating cannabis plants that have higher THC levels by applying growing methods that are typically used for indoor operations. These DTOs use select seeds from Mexico, prepare the seedlings in greenhouses, plant the seedlings outdoors before late April, separate male from female plants prior to pollination, and use high-nitrogen fertilizer. Cloned starter plants, sophisticated irrigation systems, and pesticides are also used.⁵

The environmental damage caused by outdoor cannabis cultivation, particularly on public lands, is a serious concern for law enforcement and other public agencies. Grow-site operators often contaminate and alter watersheds, divert natural water courses, clear native vegetation, and poach protected wildlife; they discard garbage, nonbiodegradable materials, and human waste as well as create wildfire hazards. According to the National Forest System and CAMP, law enforcement officers are encountering increasing numbers of dumpsites of highly toxic insecticides, chemical repellants, and other poisons. These toxic chemicals enter and contaminate ground water, pollute watersheds, kill fish and other wildlife, and eventually enter residential water supplies. The National Park Service estimates that for every acre of forest planted with cannabis, 10 acres are damaged. The cost to repair and restore an outdoor cultivation site is approximately $11,000 per acre.

Operation Emerald Web

In February 2007 law enforcement authorities arrested eight Santa Rosa residents who were the focus of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation entitled Operation Emerald Web. These individuals were involved in methamphetamine and marijuana production and distribution in the North Bay area. During the course of this investigation, law enforcement authorities seized more than $600,000, 35 pounds of methamphetamine, 4 pounds of pseudoephedrine, 3 pounds of cocaine, more than 5,000 pounds of processed marijuana, nearly 20,000 live cannabis plants; and 50 firearms, including 5 assault rifles. DEA estimated the street value of the seized drugs to be over $5 million.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation San Francisco press release dated February 15, 2007.

Indoor cannabis cultivators typically establish grow sites in multiple residences, often using hydroponics technology, sophisticated lighting, and irrigation systems. Indoor growers prefer the controlled environment because they can avoid intensified outdoor eradication efforts while, at the same time, achieving higher profits through a year-round cultivation season by turning out a new crop of higher-potency marijuana every 90 days. More sophisticated operations bypass electric meters to eliminate high energy-use readings, large electric bills, and possible law enforcement scrutiny. Caucasian criminal groups and independent dealers are the primary producers of indoor, high-grade marijuana within the HIDTA region. However, Asian DTOs and criminal groups that had previously operated smaller indoor grow sites are now involved with large-scale cannabis cultivation operations that typically produce high-grade marijuana. For example, law enforcement officers arrested members of a San Francisco-based Asian DTO in August 2006 and seized more than 10,000 cannabis plants from 14 locations in Elk Grove, California. The grow site at each residence was configured in the same manner with artificial lighting and irrigation systems operated by timers. Additionally, the electricity to each residence was rewired to bypass the electric meter, a situation that created a fire hazard.

Indoor grow sites often pose considerable safety and health concerns for law enforcement officers, first responders, and unwitting citizens. Buildings used for indoor grow sites are 40 times more likely to catch fire than a building not used as a grow site because of the highly flammable chemicals, fertilizers, high-intensity lighting, electrical equipment, and reconfigured electrical systems often present in such structures. For instance, in December 2006 a $1 million house used as an indoor grow site in Contra Costa County caught fire and was completely destroyed. High levels of carbon dioxide⁶ and carbon monoxide may also be present at indoor grow sites as a result of damaged exhaust systems. Additionally, grow sites are often booby-trapped to ward off thieves and law enforcement officers. Moreover, as a result of the prolonged high humidity at indoor grow sites, the buildings that contain them can be completely ruined from the growth of toxic molds.

Cannabis cultivators sometimes use Proposition 215 as a pretext for conducting illegal indoor grow operations on a commercial basis manufacturing high-grade marijuana for further distribution through cannabis clubs. For instance, in October 2006 federal authorities arrested 15 individuals in the San Francisco area for operating illegal indoor cannabis grow operation under the guise of producing medicinal marijuana. Authorities seized nearly 13,000 cannabis plants, computers, a luxury convertible, and a total of $125,000. Law enforcement officials report that marijuana-laced edibles are even commercially manufactured. In December 2006 federal authorities arrested the owner and manager of a local medical marijuana patient cooperative in Hayward, California, for operating an illegal indoor cannabis grow operation. Authorities seized two inert grenades in addition to hundreds of cannabis plants, food items including cookies, brownies, and popcorn, and several high-value, luxury automobiles and motorcycles. (See Figure 4.)

Methamphetamine production in the Northern California HIDTA region is decreasing, largely as a result of successful law enforcement operations and regulatory efforts to control precursor chemicals. According to the National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System (NCLSS), 26 methamphetamine laboratories were seized in the HIDTA region in 2006, a decrease from 36 laboratories seized in 2005, and 57 laboratories in 2004.

Most methamphetamine laboratories in the Northern California HIDTA region are small scale and intended to produce limited quantities for personal use or limited distribution--on average 4 to 7 grams per production cycle or "cook." Law enforcement authorities report that a few major laboratories and superlabs still operate within the HIDTA region. Some Mexican DTOs and criminal groups based in the Northern California HIDTA region also operate large-scale methamphetamine laboratories in the Central Valley HIDTA region, which is adjacent to the Northern California HIDTA. The methamphetamine produced at these laboratories is intended for distribution in California as well as throughout the United States.

End Notes

4. Data were received from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP); U.S. Department of the Interior; and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. DCE/SP statistics include state eradication efforts by CAMP.
5. Cloned starter plants enable cannabis cultivators to select higher-quality plants and avoid male-female pollination, thereby raising potential THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) content.
6. Indoor cannabis growers commonly use carbon dioxide generators to produce carbon dioxide to "feed" the plants and increase the grow rates. This poses a health risk to law enforcement personnel responding to the site or neighboring residences in an urban environment, since the oxygen levels are greatly reduced.