FBI Urged to Act on Illegal Marijuana Farms in Northern California

Rep. James Gallagher from California has called on FBI Director Kash Patel to address illegal marijuana cultivation in Northern California. This appeal follows a report from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office highlighting extensive illegal cultivation and associated immigrant labor in the region.

Gallagher noted the negative impact on local ranchers and groundwater supplies, along with concerns about Chinese organized-crime networks potentially financing these operations. He described rural properties covered with makeshift plastic greenhouses, called ‘hoop houses’, where marijuana uses groundwater sourced from nearby wells.

The consequences have been devastating, with residents facing depleted water supplies and threats to their safety, while local farmers and ranchers contend with increased competition for groundwater and the risk of contamination to their agricultural land, said Gallagher.

The issue includes an estimated 7,000 illegal growers just in the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision. This illegal cultivation has also spread to federal lands like the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. In 2025, authorities eradicated a significant number of illegal marijuana plants and seized processed marijuana in Siskiyou County.

Gallagher expressed concerns about Chinese organized-crime networks potentially financing these setups. Investigations in Siskiyou County found cultivation properties linked to individuals outside the county with no apparent ownership by the managers on-site. This raised questions about the true financiers behind these operations.

A 2018 federal investigation uncovered an illegal marijuana operation funded by money from China in California, leading to property forfeitures in the Sacramento area, involving more than 100 properties.

Environmental concerns were also highlighted, focusing on the use of toxic pesticides, some banned in the U.S. and suspected to be illegally imported, with labels in Chinese. Siskiyou County investigators have identified 27 pesticide compounds at illegal grow sites, posing health risks to residents and officials.