There are many illegal marijuana farms, but federal agents targeted California’s biggest legal one

By MICHAEL R BLOOD and AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ANGELES AP There are thousands of illegal marijuana farms around the country But when the federal administration decided to stage one of its largest raids since President Donald Trump took office in January it picked the biggest legal grower in California Nearly two weeks later the reason for the federal raid at two Glass House farm sites northwest of Los Angeles remains unclear and has prompted speculation Particular say the raid was intended to send a chilling message to immigrants in the U S illegally but also to rattle the state s legal cannabis industry Meanwhile the Republican Trump administration has been feuding with heavily Democratic California over funding for everything from high-speed rail construction to wildfire relief so it s also manageable Glass House was pulled into a broader conflict between the White House and Sacramento There are plenty of other places they can go to find illegal workers mentioned political consultant Adam Spiker who advises cannabis companies A lot of people believe there is a hint of politics in this It s federal enforcement coming into California to go after cannabis FILE Demonstrators confront federal agents blocking a road during an immigration raid in Camarillo Calif AP Photo Michael Owen Baker File What happened during the raids On July U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Perimeter Patrol agents executed a search warrant for Glass House s farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo court filings show At the Camarillo site armored vehicles blocked the road which is lined with fields and greenhouses as masked agents deployed onto the property One farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof while running to hide later died from his injuries Outside the farm officers faced off with demonstrators and fired tear gas to disperse them a federal agent wrote in court filings One demonstrator threw a gas canister back at Territory line Patrol officers according to the agent Another demonstrator who is sought by the FBI appeared to fire a gun More than people were arrested majority suspected of being in the country without legal status Those arrested included four U S citizens including U S Army veteran George Retes who works as a measure guard and was held for three days The operation came more than a month into an extended crackdown across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles where local personnel say the federal actions are spreading fear in immigrant communities FILE A protester runs from tear gas tossed by federal immigration agents to clear a path for the vehicles during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo Calif Thursday July AP Photo Michael Owen Baker File Why Glass House No cannabis was seized and the criminal search warrants used to enter the farm sites are under court seal Officials refused to share them with The Associated Press The regime stated the business was being investigated for prospective child labor human trafficking and other abuses Agents revealed children at one site No information has been distributed about the minors The company has not been charged Federal and state laws allow children as young as to work in agriculture under certain conditions though no one under age is allowed to work in the cannabis industry Company administrators did not respond to calls or emails In a brief announcement on the social platform X Glass House revealed it complied with immigration and naturalization warrants and has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors FILE The exterior of Glass House Farms is shown a day after an immigration raid on the facility on Friday July in Camarillo Calif AP Photo Damian Dovarganes File A few believe the raid was aimed at the legal marijuana realm After the raid United Farm Workers the country s biggest farm worker union posted an urgent message to its social media accounts warning that because marijuana is illegal under federal law workers who are not U S citizens should avoid jobs in the cannabis industry including state-licensed facilities We know this is unfair it reported but we encourage you to protect yourself and your family Industry experts point to unwelcome publicity the company received after rival Catalyst Cannabis Co filed a lawsuit alleging that Glass House has become one of the largest if not the largest black marketers of cannabis in the state of California The lawsuit formally filed by Catalyst parent Discount Med Inc was dismissed last year but the headlines might have drawn the interest of federal investigators FILE Juan Duran cries outside of Glass House Farms where a relative was injured during a previous day immigration raid on Friday July in Camarillo Calif AP Photo Damian Dovarganes File Who runs the Glass House farm sites The company was co-founded by Kyle Kazan a former Southern California police officer and special teaching facilitator turned cannabis investor and Graham Farrar a Santa Barbara tech entrepreneur Glass House started growing cannabis in a greenhouse in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County when once-thriving cut flower operations were being reduced It later bought property in Camarillo in neighboring Ventura County for million that had six greenhouses and was being used to grow tomatoes and cucumbers To date two of the greenhouses have been converted to grow cannabis Workers relatives announced tomatoes are still being grown in other greenhouses at the location Related Articles Republican Jim Jordan deposed in federal suit tied to sex abuse by late Ohio State club clinician Trump s Labor Department proposes more than rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces The cabinet was once a steady partner for nonprofits That s changing Trump and Philippine leader plan to talk tariffs and China at the White House US says it s leaving UNESCO again only years after rejoining How did Glass House do it The raids have put the spotlight on a company that is alternately admired and reviled because of its meteoric rise in the nation s largest legal industry Glass House is the state s biggest legal cultivator dwarfing its nearest rivals Glass House Farms is part of the broader company Glass House Brands which has other businesses that make cannabis products There is no farmer in California that can compete with them at scale Sacramento-based cannabis consultant Sam Rodriguez noted A large number of legal operators have struggled despite the passage of Proposition in which was seen as a watershed moment in the push to legitimize and tax California s multibillion-dollar marijuana industry In when retail outlets could open California became the world s largest legal marketplace But operators faced heavy taxes seven-figure start-up costs and for a great number of consumers the tax-free illegal region remained a better deal But as other companies folded Glass House took off fueling envy and suspicion by rivals over its boom at a time when much of the state s legal sphere was in dilemma in large part because of competition from the robust underground field In a latest call with investors Kazan disclosed company revenue in the first quarter hit million up over the same period last year He disclosed he remained hopeful for a federal shift that would end marijuana s classification as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD But we are a company that does not require federal legalization for survival Kazan explained Glass House s sales grew as multiple others around the state declined I remain steadfast in the belief that it is not if but when the cannabis industry becomes America s next massive normalized industry and I m excited to participate along with investors in the corresponding reward that that change will bring he revealed