Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, and other lawmakers are looking for a statewide approach to ending illegal marijuana grows which have been becoming more and more difficult to enforce by local law enforcement. 

Wilk along with Assemblymembers Tom Lackey and Thurston “Smitty” Smith have invited California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Secretary Jared Blumenfeld to visit the region and see first-hand the growing public safety and environmental problems resulting from these unfettered grows, according to officials.  

Wilk points to the recent seizure of “74 tons of illicitly grown marijuana” in east Los Angeles County near Lancaster on June 8 as a reason why both Bonta and Blumenfeld need to act immediately to identify additional resources to aid in addressing the increasing issues associated with illegal marijuana sites, officials said. 

“Illegal marijuana grows are lucrative and have become prolific in California because of the state’s soft-on-crime policies,” Wilk said. “They have exploded in my area of Los Angeles County because the County’s new District Attorney has made it a point to not prosecute these types of crimes to the full extent of the law. This stance brings a major criminal element into otherwise safe communities, causes pollution from the illegal chemicals used in these grows, creates rampant water theft, and pushes legal, licensed marijuana farmers out of the marketplace.” 

See Related: Senator Wilk Applauds Law Enforcement After Four Water Thieves Arrested In Connection With Illegal Marijuana Grows  

Although the L.A. District Attorney is not prosecuting the illegal marijuana growers, Wilk is going to continue to fight to bring these grows to an end. 

“There is no denying that decades of failed criminal policies have contributed to a situation where the rights of criminals seem to be prioritized over those of law-abiding citizens. But unless the state acts with definitive authority on this issue, I believe we are rapidly approaching the point of no return with our environmental goals, public safety, water rights — and the list goes on,” Wilk said. “I will continue to fight for residents of the 21st Senate District, and for families around the state whose communities have been devastated by the presence of these criminal operations in their backyards.” 

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