A major drug raid in the San Gabriel Valley by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department turned up $4.5 million worth of marijuana.

Deputies said they seized a total of about 2,000 marijuana plants and made arrests in Temple City, San Gabriel, Rosemead and East Pasadena.

Asian Gang Task Force detectives served five search warrants and dismantled what they consider a sophisticated growing operation.

abclocal.go.com

Supervisors in Mendocino County have decided against declaring a state of emergency over “the massive marijuana gardens being grown on public lands.” Apparently the pot growing in Mendocino National Forest – which authorities believe is primarily grown “by Mexican nationals possibly affiliated with drug cartels” – led to area residents requesting the state of emergency declaration.

hightimes.com

It's not just those "prohibitionists" who are fighting Proposition 19, the California initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use and allow cities and counties to tax retail pot sales.

Stoner bloggers are also out to kill the measure.

fresnobee.com

During marijuana harvest season in the summer, local law enforcement agencies find many cannabis-growing operations hidden in remote canyons but also in unexpected indoor places.

Recently, authorities have found several significant operations in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and Los Padres National Forest. Law enforcement officers hope that by busting the local undertakings, they can interrupt the drug trafficking and sales process and make a dent in the illegal narcotics industry.

lompocrecord.com

Cementing its position as a cannabis capital, Oakland has moved rapidly in recent weeks toward a world of legalized pot, developing permits for what would be some of the largest sanctioned marijuana farms in the world and writing ballot measures that would create a bevy of cannabis taxes.

But at every step, notable opposition came from one group: Harborside Health Center, believed to be the world's largest medical marijuana dispensary.

sfgate.com

Seven residence’s spanning cities through Northern California, including Sacramento, Elk Grove San Jose Milpitas and Oakland were seized in a raid on multi county pot ring. The functioning grow houses were all residential homes that typically were pirating utilities and bypassing electrical meters to maintain constant electrical usage.

The productive operations were capable manufacturing more than a ton of marijuana per year with a $10 million street value.

examiner.com

The California Legislative Analyst's Office's recently published critique of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, provides needed clarity to the ongoing debate regarding marijuana policy and offers a swift rebuttal to the doomsday scenarios touted by many of the measure's opponents.

According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the immediate effect of the measure would be to allow adults age 21 and older to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana in the privacy of their own home. The agency estimates that halting the prosecution of these minor marijuana offenses would save state and local governments "several tens of millions of dollars annually," and enable law enforcement to reprioritize resources toward other criminal activities.

mercurynews.com

A city in California has spelled out how much it intends to charge business's who wish to set up as medical marijuana growing operations, and its asking for a thumping $211,000 US dollars in city permit fees alone.

cannazine.co.uk