California cannabis companies hoped Trump would be an ally. Then the raids happened

After massive federal raids last week at two Southern California cannabis farms, the United Farm Workers posted an urgent message to its social media accounts. Because weed remains illegal under federal law, the union advised workers who are not U.S. citizens to avoid jobs in the cannabis industry, even at state-licensed facilities.

“We know this is unfair,” the United Farm Workers wrote Monday, “but we encourage you to protect yourself and your family.”

The immigration enforcement operations at the Camarillo and Carpinteria facilities of Glass House Farms, one of the state’s largest licensed cannabis companies, have unsettled California’s legal industry, which feels more vulnerable than it has since voters approved recreational weed in 2016.

The chaotic scene has brought to the forefront simmering concerns that weed farms could become an easy target as President Donald Trump ramps up deportations, because simply working in the industry could provide the criminal pretext to arrest even a legal immigrant.

It has also resurfaced for many industry veterans traumatic memories of raids during the “war on drugs,” raising alarms that the Trump administration may be hardening its stance against what remains a federally illegal substance.

“There is a sense that the community has gotten a little complacent in our legalization bubbles,” said Caren Woodson, senior director of compliance and licensing for Kiva Brands and the board president of the California Cannabis Industry Association. “We’re definitely in a moment of uncertainty.”

The fears of California cannabis growers had largely faded in recent decades, since voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 and its recreational use in 2016. The legal market was nearly $4.9 billion last year and employed an estimated 83,000 people, though its growth is precarious as it struggles to compete with a stubbornly robust illicit industry.

But any sense of ease was snapped by the immigration raids last week, which were tied to alleged labor violations by Glass House Farms. Federal authorities ultimately reported more than 360 arrests of people they suspected of being in the country illegally and the recovery of 14 immigrant minors. Glass House Farms did not respond to emailed questions.

“There is absolutely heightened risk working for a cannabis facility. It shouldn’t be that way,” Woodson said. “Folks should be aware of that risk and we should be prepared as an industry to manage that risk.”

The Trump administration has not given an indication whether those operations were an isolated incident or a reflection of shifting enforcement priorities on cannabis. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not respond to emailed questions.

Advocates had hoped that Trump might finally lead the way on loosening federal restrictions on cannabis. Yet since suggesting during his campaign last fall that he would downgrade the classification of weed so that its medical uses can be more easily studied, Trump has made no moves toward rescheduling.

Other developments signal that momentum may be moving in the opposite direction. During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee to lead the DEA would not commit to removing cannabis from the list of serious narcotics, and there is an ongoing effort in Congress to block its reclassification.

“We can’t take anything for granted,” Steph Sherer, executive director of the advocacy group Americans For Safe Access, warned industry members on a video call last week following the raids. “We’ve gotten dependent on this broader layer of support for medical cannabis that’s being tested right now.”

She suggested that growers learn how to read a search warrant, have a criminal lawyer on retainer and plan how they would pay for bail.

Not everyone believes it’s time to panic just yet. Some local members of the cannabis industry have noted that Glass House’s facilities are surrounded by other weed farms that were not raided by federal authorities, which could mean the operation was entirely unrelated to drugs.

The California Department of Cannabis Control subsequently confirmed that it was actively investigating a child labor complaint against the company.

“The employment of individuals under the age of 21 in the cannabis industry is strictly illegal, a serious matter, and is not tolerated,” spokesperson David Hafner said in a statement.