Michael R. Brad and Amy Taxin, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) – There are thousands of illegal marijuana farms nationwide.
But when the federal government decided to stage one of the biggest attacks since President Donald Trump took office in January, he chose California’s biggest legal grower.
Almost two weeks later, the reasons for the federal attacks at two glasshouse farm sites northwest of Los Angeles remained unknown, prompting speculation. Some say the attack was intended not only to send an illegally and horrifying message to American immigrants, but also to rattle the state’s legal cannabis industry.
Meanwhile, the Republican Trump administration has been refuting to fund everything from building high-speed rails to wildfire relief, and it is also possible that Glasshouse has been drawn into the wider conflict between the White House and Sacramento.
“There are many other places you can go to find illegal workers,” said Adam Spiker, a political consultant who advises cannabis companies. “Many people believe this has political hints. There’s a federal enforcement coming to California to chase marijuana.”
What happened during the attack?
On July 10, US immigration and customs enforcement and border patrol agents executed a search warrant for the farms of Carpinteria and Camarillo’s glass houses, court filings have been shown.
At the Camarillo site, armored vehicles blocked the road. The roads are lined with fields and greenhouses when masked agents deploy to properties. A farm worker who fell off the roof of a greenhouse while running, later died of injuries.
Outside the farm, officers confronted demonstrators and dispersed tear gas to disperse them, federal agents wrote in their court application. According to the agent, one demonstrator threw a gas canister back at a Border Patrol officer. Another demonstrator, sought by the FBI, appeared to be firing a gun.
More than 360 people were arrested, most suspected of being in a country with no legal status. Those arrested included US Army veteran George Litters, 25, and four US citizens who worked as security guards and were taken into custody for three days.
The operation came over a month to an extended crackdown in Southern California, originally in Los Angeles. Local officials say federal actions are spreading fear in the immigrant community.
Why Glass House?
Cannabis will not be seized, and the criminal search warrant used to enter the farm is under the court seal. Authorities refused to share them with the Associated Press.
The government said the business is being investigated for potential child labour, human trafficking and other abuse. The agent found 14 children on one site. No information has been released regarding minors.
The company is not charged.
Federal and state laws allow 12-year-old children to work in agriculture under certain conditions, but people under the age of 21 are not permitted to work in the cannabis industry.
Company officials did not respond to calls or emails. In a brief statement on Social Platform X, Glass House stated that it is compliant with immigration and naturalization warrants and “has never intentionally violated applicable employment practices and does not employ minors.”
Some believe the attack is targeted at the legal marijuana market
After the attack, farm workers at United, the country’s largest farm workers union, posted an urgent message on their social media accounts that because marijuana is illegal under federal law, non-US citizens should avoid working in the cannabis industry, including nationally licensed facilities.
“We know this is unfair,” he said, “But we encourage you to protect yourself and your family.”
Industry experts point to the unwelcome advertised the company received after filing a 2023 lawsuit alleging that rival Catalyst Cannabis Co. has “became one of the biggest, if not the biggest, black marketers for cannabis in California.” The lawsuit formally filed by Catalyst Parent 562 Discount Med Inc. was dismissed last year, but the headlines may have elicited the interests of federal agents.
Who runs the Glasshouse Farm website?
The company was co-founded by former Southern California police officer and special education teacher Kyle Kazan, and Graham Farrar, a cannabis investor and entrepreneur at Santa Barbara Institute of Technology.
Glasshouse began growing cannabis in the Carpinteria greenhouse in Santa Barbara County when the once-shining cut flower operations were reduced. He then purchased the Camarillo property in neighbouring Ventura County for $93 million. It had six greenhouses and was used to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.
To date, two greenhouses have been converted to grow cannabis. Worker’s parents said the tomatoes are still grown in other greenhouses there.
How did you do Glass House?
The raid has put the spotlight on companies that have been alternately praised and reversed for the rise in meteors in the country’s biggest legal market.
Glasshouse is the state’s largest legal cultivator and warns its closest rival. Glass House Farms is part of the Glass House brand, a wider company with other companies that manufacture cannabis products.
“There are no farmers in California who can compete on a large scale,” said Sam Rodriguez, a cannabis consultant based in Sacramento.
Despite the passing of Proposal 64 in 2016, many legal operators have struggled. This was seen as a pitching moment to legalize and tax California’s multibillion dollar marijuana industry. In 2018, when retailers were able to open, California became the world’s largest legal market.
However, operators faced heavy taxes, seven-figure startup costs, and for many consumers, the tax-free illegal market remained a better deal.
However, as other companies folded, Glass House took off and when many of the state’s legal markets were in crisis, fostering vy hopes and doubts by rivals, burning endy and doubts among them.
In a recent call with investors, Kazan said the company’s revenues reached $45 million in the first quarter, up 49% over the same period last year. He said he has hopes for a federal shift to end the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD.
But “We are a company that doesn’t require federal legalization to survive,” Kazan said.
Glasshouse sales grew as many other people in the state fell.
“I continue to stick to the belief that the cannabis industry is not going to become America’s next big regularization industry, and I’m excited to join investors in the corresponding rewards that change brings,” he said.
Original issue: July 22, 2025, 12:24pm EDT
