LOS ANGELES — There are thousands of illegal marijuana farms around the country.
But when the federal government decided to stage one of its largest raids since President Donald Trump took office in January, it picked the biggest legal grower in California.
Nearly two weeks later, the reason for the federal raid at two Glass House farm sites northwest of Los Angeles remains unclear and has prompted speculation. Some say the raid was intended to send a chilling message to immigrants in the U.S. illegally – but also to rattle the state’s legal cannabis industry.
Meanwhile, the Republican Trump administration has been feuding with heavily Democratic California over funding for everything from high-speed rail construction to wildfire relief, so it’s also possible Glass House was pulled into a broader conflict between the White House and Sacramento.
“There are plenty of other places they can go to find illegal workers,” said