KQED Radio
KQED Newssee more
Latest Newscasts:KQEDNPR
Player Sponsored By
upper waypoint

Why Illegal Weed Is Booming In California

at
Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

 (Brian van der Brug for Los Angeles Times © 2022)

California legalized recreational cannabis in 2016 promising to create the “largest legal weed market in the world,” according to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times. Legalization promised to generate millions of new tax dollars and lure marijuana farmers and sellers away from the black market. That didn’t happen as planned. Instead, illegal cannabis farming has exploded. We’ll dig into the L.A. Times investigation that examines the violence, deaths, and environmental damage from the illegal grows and why the law legalizing pot has fallen so short.

Guests:

Paige St. John, investigative reporter, Los Angeles Times; author of the recent article, "The reality of legal weed in California: Huge illegal grows, violence, worker exploitation and deaths"

Sponsored

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Violence Escalates in Sudan as Civil War Enters Second YearNPR's Sarah McCammon on Leaving the Evangelical ChurchKQED Youth Takeover: We’re Getting a WNBA TeamRainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ on Why We Need a Spiritual RevolutionForum From the Archives: Remembering Glide Memorial's Cecil WilliamsErik Aadahl on the Power of Sound in FilmKQED Youth Takeover: How Can San Jose Schools Create Safer Campuses?Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness CasePercival Everett’s Novel “James” Recenters the Story of Huck FinnHave We Entered Into a New Cold War Era?