02x03 - Black Market Marijuana

[bunniefuu]

(footsteps)

(electricity buzz)

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER:
California is the epicenter of
a massive social experiment,

legalized marijuana.

♪ Theres not many
roads left to follow ♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER:
Supporters claimed it would
rein in the world's largest

marijuana black market
or crush it all together.

♪ Cos you are the kind
that can't be denied ♪

♪ Oh, I'll never let you go ♪♪

VAM ZELLER:
But four years in, no one
could have predicted that

legalization would have
the opposite effect,

energizing the illicit trade
that's now three times larger

than the legal one.

JUAN: The black
market for weed?

It's exploding right now, man.

♪ ♪

♪ Concentrate,
now concentrate,
now concentrate ♪

♪ Now concentrate,
now concentrate,
now concentrate. ♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: Drive anywhere
in LA, and before long,

I guarantee, you'll
pass by a weed shop.

They're everywhere.

The telltale green crosses
of weed shops are now just as

much a part of the
landscape as the palm trees

and taco trucks.

♪ Ready? ♪

♪ With the box cutters
and the machetes ♪

♪ Level than most like
Angels smokin' dope. ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
But all is not what it seems.

Tell me some of the
examples of people,

you don't need to say
names if you don't want to,

but people that
you've sold weed to.

NNERG: Well, a little bit
of everybody, high and low.

Homeless people, people that
appear to be out of their mind,

doctors, lawyers,
rock stars, rap stars,

you know, athletes.

You know what I mean,
everybody knows about me.

VAN ZELLER: Is that true?
NNERG: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: What do
they know you by?

NNERG: Saying I'm
the king of $5 gram.

I started $5 gram.

VAN ZELLER: What's $5 gram?

NNERG: That means that
people could smoke on a budget.

If you didn't have
a lot of money,

I would give you a
gram of some, you know,

fair weed for $5.

VAN ZELLER: Is that still
profitable for you though?

NNERG: If you get 1,000
of them in a week, it can,

it can make sense.

VAN ZELLER: The man
behind the wheel, NNERG,

is taking me to his
dispensary in South LA.

(buzzer)

NNERG:
Thank you, sir! Enjoy that.

What's up, man?
Whatchu need? A gram?

VAN ZELLER: You're
weighing everything here?

CLERK: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: Ah,
it's the $5 gram!

NNERG: Yeah. It's $5 gram.

VAN ZELLER:
Due to the hefty taxes
as high as 45% in California,

a gram of weed can set
you back 15 to 20 bucks.

So you might be wondering
how NNERG's dispensary can

afford to sell weed at
such rock bottom prices.

The answer is simple.

So the business you're
running here is ill*gal?

NNERG: Yeah, technically.

VAN ZELLER: Get this,
four years after California

legalized marijuana in 2016,

up to 80% of dispensaries
in the state are

just like NNERG's, ill*gal.

(singing in spanish)

VAN ZELLER: They're
part of a bustling $9 billion

black market that's blossomed
in the wake of legalization.

And I am itching to
understand how the state got

it all so wrong.

When you think about
ill*gal marijuana,

you don't think
about dispensaries.

People think that
they're all legal.

BILL: After it was legalized,

the black market
actually grew.

Right now in California,
there are more unlicensed

dispensaries than
licensed dispensaries.

VAN ZELLER:
And that's what you're
going after today?

BILL: Correct.

VAN ZELLER: Wow.

There's another
surveillance camera
right above the door here.

Here's the thing about
these underground shops.

Do you want to be licensed?

NNERG: Yeah. Why not?

They just got so many hurdles.

VAN ZELLER: Many of
them wanted to go legal,

but the path to licensing
is fraught with problems.

MIKE: It's taxed like three
or four times the amount that

alcohol is taxed.

SARAH: All of the hoops
that you have to jump through.

NNERG: We won't
have the capital,

the licenses are too expensive.

VAN ZELLER: It's an
entrepreneur's worst nightmare.

Someone like NNERG
faces a minefield of
complex regulations.

And above all,
they need cash, lots of cash.

Often hundreds of
thousands of dollars
to pay for upfront costs,

license fees, and rent
for an unopened storefront.

And good luck getting a loan,
since virtually no banks will

issue them while cannabis
remains federally ill*gal.

And guess who doesn't have
access to that much capital.

NNERG: You know, and just by
our history in this country,

I didn't think we had
anything coming as the people.

And I was right.

VAN ZELLER: The same
communities that were locked

up the most for cannabis
offenses are the ones getting

locked out of
the legal market.

NNERG: They're saying that
out of 187 dispensaries,

only three of those
people are black owners.

VAN ZELLER: In all of LA?
NNERG: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Do you think
that's why so many people just

prefer to stay
in black market?

NNERG: Yeah,
because it's easier.

VAN ZELLER:
Withso much money being
made in marijuana,

they aren't about to
close up shop either.

BILL: Right now,
the mission is basically
serve the search warrant,

seize all cannabis and
all the ill‐gotten gains.

VAN ZELLER: So
the state is going after them.

OFFICER: Police! Search warrant.

VAN ZELLER: And using a
portion of the tax revenues

from legal sales to bust
many people who would love

to be paying taxes.

NNERG: You'll spend more
money locking me up than

I probably made.

VAN ZELLER:
While crackdowns from
cops are on the rise.

Today, you guys busted three
of these ill*gal dispensaries.

How many more do you
think there are out there?

BILL: Thousands, thousands.

VAN ZELLER: Robberies and
break‐ins are rising too.

REPORTER: Armed and violent.

Putting a g*n to the
neck of an employee.

Points the g*n
right in her face.

Grabbing several thousand
dollars' worth of cash out

of the till.

NNERG: I've had a robbery
attempt where I had to fight

the guys off with a g*n.

I had people come
through the ceiling,

come through the walls,
come through the doors.

VAN ZELLER: That's why you
have the surveillance cameras

here as well?

NNERG: Yeah. Yeah.

REPORTER:
Suddenly, a man outside
rushes in and opens fire.

One woman is k*lled,
a man is wounded.

TOBY: I've been armed robbed,
home‐invaded, burglarized.

VAN ZELLER: Really?

TOBY: I've been tied up,
left naked, zip tied.

VAN ZELLER: No, really?

TOBY: Yeah. Oh, yeah.

VAN ZELLER:
What's crazy is that the
chaos swirling around

these dispensaries is just
one of many unintended

consequences of legalization.

The legal supply chain is
competing with a paralleled

universe of black market
growers and distributors.

So who are the players
making all of this money and

how are they getting
away with it?

That's exactly what
I want to know.

♪ ♪

One of the hot spots for
growing marijuana is a place

you'd least expect.

The middle of the
Mojave Desert.

How often do you
guys do these raids?

RICH: Every week, we try
and do between three and

twelve search warrants a week.

VAN ZELLER: Wow, that's a lot.

RICH: Yeah!

VAN ZELLER:
Criminals can't grow it
fast enough to satisfy

the high demand.

Luckily for them,
marijuana is, well, a weed.

With the right know how, you
can grow it almost anywhere.

This is it?

RICH: This is it.

VAN ZELLER: Okay.
This is it, guys,

just be careful,
slowly behind them.

Yeah.

RICH: Hit it.

(pounding)

OFFICER: Sheriff's
department, search warrant.

Demand entry.

Sheriff's department,
search warrant.

RICH: Go ahead. Moving up.

Clear the truck.

OFFICER: Clear.
Take it, go, go, go, go.

Sheriff's department,
search warrant.

Going through the rear.

Left center.

VAN ZELLER: Wow,
there's a lot of plants.

It smells.
Really strong smell.

They're currently looking
for people they know
that they are workers here,

people actually
living in the trailer.

RICH: No one here.

VAN ZELLER: So you think
they knew you guys were coming?

RICH: They may have seen
us as we were driving in.

We'll count the plants,

we'll go in and
cut them all down and

load them up in our trailer,

and then we're
onto the next one.

VAN ZELLER: And this is
your typical day on the job.

RICH: This is a typical day.

Yeah, we do this
all day every day.

VAN ZELLER: Growing weed
used to be a felony.

It's now a misdemeanor
with just a $500 fine.

If you were risking it
before legalization,

there's less cause for
concern now than ever before.

Six gardens in this,
just this location alone.

A street value of around
half a million dollars.

It's created a new wild
west green rush for

the 21st century.

♪ Give me that money,
g‐g‐give me that money ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
And everyone is scrambling
to get a piece of the pie.

SHERIFF: If you're successful
at your marijuana grow,

you stand to profit
quite handsomely.

♪ Give me that money,
g‐g‐give me that money ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
The underground supply chain
works like this,

growers from all over
the state cultivate weed
for three to four months,

then it's harvested
and brought to the market,

where sellers meet buyers.

VAN ZELLER: We've been given a
GPS location where we're going

to meet some people we don't
have a lot of information.

Still not sure what
we'll be given access to.

I'm heading to the weed
cultivation epicenter in

Northern California.

An area that retains
bragging rights for growing

some of the world's best bud.

This is like such an idyllic
beautiful place, right?

It's not where you'd expect
ill*gal stuff to be happening.

Or maybe it is the
perfect place, actually.

Out in these remote hills,
it's anyone's guess what's

waiting at the
end of the road.

Okay. So, now,

we just stop here and
wait for somebody to
come and pick us up.

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: I've been in this
situation a lot over the years,

heading to meet a contact.

It's a pretty secluded spot.

With no idea what
I'm walking into.

Check this out, it says,
"Smile, you're on camera."

Whoever is at
the end of the road tends

to be packing heat.

Is it here?

Escorted by an
armed entourage.

And generally suspicious
of our intentions.

I think this is our guy.

Hi.

VAN ZELLER:
Nice to meet you too.
Thanks for having us.

VAN ZELLER: But the
big boss man waiting for me

defies all these expectations.

BUDDY: Welcome, come on in.

VAN ZELLER: So this is
your property, it's beautiful.

BUDDY: It sure is. I'm lucky.

VAN ZELLER: Buddy kicks
off the grand tour.

And at a first glance,
it hits every stoner cliche

you could think of.

Chill vibe, eccentric
art, and of course,

a true love of the ganja.

BUDDY: I have been
growing my whole life since

I was a teenager.

You know, selling
pot in high school,

eighths and stuff.

But taken it seriously
for the last 12 years.

VAN ZELLER: Has anyone ever
told you that you look exactly

like a younger version
of "The Dude" from

The Big Lebowski.

BUDDY: My whole
entire life, yes.

VAN ZELLER:
First off, there's his grow,

inside the garage.

BUDDY: I have 148 plants,
$360,000, I think.

VAN ZELLER: $360,000 a year,

if you're lucky just
from this room alone?

BUDDY: Just from this room.

VAN ZELLER:
And out in the backyard.

Oh, wow.

BUDDY: Yup.

There's a vibration, there's
frequency that we create that

the plants receive.

I tell all my employees
that every tickle is a nickel.

Touch as many
branches as you can.

Every time you touch them,
you send them positive vibes

and that makes more
money off of that plant.

VAN ZELLER:
Every tickle is a nickel.

Legalization was supposed
to grant outlaw growers like

Buddy a five‐year grace period
to establish themselves before

big companies
could get licensed.

Were you excited when you
found out that it was

going to be legalized?

BUDDY: Not at all.
I did not want it to be legal.

VAN ZELLER: Why not?

BUDDY: It wasn't
protecting people like me.

VAN ZELLER: But
the regulations undercut this

with a loophole allowing
single growers to

obtain multiple permits.

BUDDY: Big business came
right in and bought up tons of

property and really
took over the industry.

VAN ZELLER: Smaller growers
couldn't compete at that scale,

so only a tiny
fraction of the estimated

60,000 outlaw growers
like Buddy has gone legal.

BUDDY: We were all upset at
the way the law was written.

We saw that it was just
a corporate takeover.

VAN ZELLER: Huh.

BUDDY: I spent $60,000 on
lawyers and permits only to

find out there's more permits
and more hoops to jump through,

which they didn't explain.

VAN ZELLER: So the police
could come in here right now

and you would have no warning
that they were coming.

BUDDY: Exactly.

VAN ZELLER: Have they
done that to you?

BUDDY: Oh, yeah.

I got raided on a 100 acre
property that I was expanding.

Lost a quarter
million dollars.

I lost 60 pounds of pot.

I've lost five
pounds at a time.

10 pounds here.

VAN ZELLER: Hasn't that
made you think that,

"Maybe I should continue
trying to become legal."?

BUDDY: Not really.
I pay my taxes.

I don't just, I just
don't pay it to the IRS.

VAN ZELLER: Of the 60,000
estimated outlaw growers like

Buddy, only a tiny fraction
have managed to get licensed.

♪ My heart ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
Many others have dropped
out of the game entirely.

♪ Rolls out to you ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
With demand for weed higher
than it's ever been,

dangerous criminals are
rushing in to fill the void.

Do you think there will
always be an illicit side

of this business?

BUDDY: So, everything in life,
there's always going to be a

shadow in the bright light.

VAN ZELLER:
There's one group of growers
making even more money,

a group that few people
know about.

YU: Good Morning
VAN ZELLER: Good morning.

So this is it, huh?

YU: This is it.

The curtain here,
you're gonna leave it.

And then behind that curtain,
you're going to put plywood

VAN ZELLER: So the neighbors
outside will see the curtains.

YU: Exactly.

VAN ZELLER: But in fact
this is all hidden?

YU: Correct.

VAN ZELLER: This could be
any family's dream home.

YU: You have water sources
everywhere, so, you know,

watering the plants with
the water pump and timer

would be ideal.

VAN ZELLER: But some home
buyers have other intentions.

YU: This is where the biggest
grow would take place.

VAN ZELLER: Tom Yu is a former
g*ng detective with the LAPD.

He's raided hundreds of
homes just like this one.

YU: The biggest activities
of organized crimes is indoor

marijuana grows.

VAN ZELLER:
Here in California's
pricey real estate market,

criminals are shopping
for homes exclusively

to grow weed.

YU: These groups of people,
they don't want attention.

Their goal is to make money.

VAN ZELLER: And how much
money can you make from an

indoor grow like this?

YU: Two or three
million, minimum.

VAN ZELLER: A year?
YU: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Wow,
that's a lot of money.

YU: A lot of money.

And the punishment is
virtually none.

VAN ZELLER:
Lessened penalties have only
emboldened growers

to expand operations.

And in return,
caused law enforcement to

expand their crackdowns.

RICH: Well, we got several
complaints from neighbors

about the smell
of the marijuana.

Our guys went out there,

heard the humming from
the equipment inside.

VAN ZELLER: So, you're pretty
sure that there's an indoor

marijuana grow in there?

RICH: Yeah, my guys, they've,
they're very rarely wrong.

VAN ZELLER: And in
terms of the approach,

anything we should
be cautious about?

RICH: These grows have
been getting hit with a lot

of home invasion robberies.

So a lot of the growers have
started to arm themselves.

So, we always keep in
the back of our mind that

these guys could open fire, so.

VAN ZELLER:
Hence the body armor?

RICH: Hence the body armor.

VAN ZELLER:
This is police body cam
footage of officers

executing a search warrant
on a suspected grow house in

San Bernardino County,
outside LA.

One example
of many, many others.

OFFICER: Police,
stay where you are.

In fast. Police!

VAN ZELLER:
All across California,

authorities are
busting multimillion
dollar marijuana grows.

REPORTER: Hundreds of plants,
rooms are now green houses

VAN ZELLER: Right in the middle
of residential neighborhoods.

REPORTER: On this street
alone the sheriff's department

identified seven
problem houses.

YU: What the community don't
want do is have a bunch indoor

marijuana grow in a community
where their kids play outside.

OFFICER: They attract
robberies, assaults.

YU: We've seen murders,
we've seen kidnappings arising

from these type of
individual grows.

VAN ZELLER: An average pot
grow house draws an enormous

amount of electricity.

REPORTER: Holes drilled in
walls for impromptu electrical

wiring and a bypass
circuit breaker.

VAN ZELLER: Enough to rack
up an electric bill costing

almost $100,000 a year.

But these criminal groups
have a workaround for that too.

Using makeshift wiring,

they bypass the
home's electric meter,

allowing them to draw
power without being charged,

and more importantly,
without drawing attention.

OFFICER: They're paying less
power here than what would be

in an apartment.

VAN ZELLER: But even more
surprising is who's growing

all of this ill*gal weed.

OFFICER: We have
two Asian suspects in custody,

they are both from China.

VAN ZELLER: Since legalization,

the authorities have
continued busting scores of

grow houses operated by
Chinese syndicates.

REPORTER: Officers arrested two
Chinese nationals at the home.

YU: I would say 99.9% of
all indoor grows are Chinese

nationals or
criminal enterprises.

REPORTER: A story
involving drugs, g*ns,

millions of dollars,
and a rocket launcher.

YU: We've seen everything
from an AR‐15, to AK‐47s,

to your traditional
semiautomatic,

you know, handguns.

VAN ZELLER:
They fly the workers over,

put them up in a
newly purchased home,

and task them with
growing weed until their debt

is paid off.

RICH: They're working off
almost indentured servitude.

VAN ZELLER: And when the people
at the bottom are busted,

the top dogs simply
move on to the next one.

YU: Unfortunately,
90% of apprehensions do not

involve the people on top.

They're insulated.

VAN ZELLER: Do you think these
places will keep popping up?

YU: 100%.

If your demand is
higher in a post‐legalized
marijuana world.

So where does the
supply come from?

It comes from dispensaries,
or these type of engagements.

VAN ZELLER:
The criminal underworld.

YU: Correct.

VAN ZELLER:
Although the Chinese
gangs are big players,

I want to see how the
biggest ones operate.

I'm told the biggest black
market growers are also not

from the United States.

They are the Mexican cartels.

And they're growing in
our national forests.

VAN ZELLER: You may
think of the Mexican cartels as

smuggling weed
over the border,

the truth is they're
planting it right here

in American soil.

Ironically, legalization
has created a kind of

safe haven for them
to operate in California.

We're heading to an
area where cops are finding
a lot of cartel grows,

where land is free and abundant.

Our national forests.

♪ When you are near me ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
They're literally just picking
up and dropping two guys

at a time into the field,
into the mountains there.

VAN ZELLER:
Nowadays, if you head out
for a hike,

you might just wander
into a multimillion
dollar drug operation.

OFFICER: Okay.

Do not drive forward in
the (inaudible) okay?

(overlapping chatter)

RICH: Okay.

People don't bring their kids
out here anymore because they

ran into cartel members
with g*ns and they just were

fearful for their safety.

VAN ZELLER: Oh, wow!

RICH: So with all these plants
standing up under this cover,

it's pretty much a
little forest in here.

VAN ZELLER: And who's coming
out here and growing this?

RICH: All of the forest grows
that I've encountered have all

been Mexican nationals,

I've never seen anyone
other than Mexican nationals

in the forest.

VAN ZELLER: It's estimated
that at least 40% of all of

California's black
market weed is growing on

public lands just like this.

RICH: So you see this
bottle right here, carbofuran.

The skull and crossbones,

this has been banned in
the United States because

it's so toxic.

VAN ZELLER: They leave
in their wake a trail of

environmental damage,

dead animals,
and toxic chemicals.

This is to stop the animals
from eating the plants or

destroying the grow?

RICH: Yeah. Yeah.

They'll mix that carbofuran
into the water supply.

And it's so toxic that
about a quarter teaspoon will

k*ll a black bear.

So if we got a good dose
of that, we're gonna die.

VAN ZELLER: Even with all of
this stepped up enforcement,

the authorities are
only able to eradicate 20%

of the state's harvest.

RICH: This is a good vantage
point to just look out over

the valley and see all the
different marijuana grows.

One there.

One right there.
Another back there.

VAN ZELLER:
Oh, my god.

They're not even
trying to hide.

Are they dangerous?
Are they armed usually?

RICH: They are definitely armed.

We've had hikers and hunters
get g*ns pulled on them.

And we've had people
get snatched up.

REPORTER:
The raids have found
growers that are heavily armed.

A game warden got shot through
both legs with an AK 47.

SOLDIER: Don't move.
Stay down! Stay down.

REPORTER (over TV):
Shocking twist in the
m*rder of an El Dorado

County Sheriff's deputy.

VAN ZELLER:
The huge massive amount
of product and cash

being generated by these
operations has led to violence.

WOMAN: It's just getting
really concerning and scary.

SHERIFF: To say that the
California laws that have been

passed are gonna be
able to adequately deal with

this situation is a fallacy.

VAN ZELLER: The profits
from ill*gal weed growing
on our public lands,

is helping the
cartels pay for all manner

of sinister operations.

MAN: The single biggest source
of the money for the guys with

the horrific violence along
the border on the Mexican side

and now our side now are
making it from marijuana.

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: No
matter if it's Mexican cartels,

Chinese home growers,
or outlaws like Buddy,

the most dangerous part of
the game is the next link

in the supply chain.

Distribution.

When millions of dollars
of product and cash

are in the same location
at the same time.

So do you think they're
catering for the weed

businesses around here?

SARAH: Oh, for sure.

The distro that I work out
of, there's people selling

hundreds of pounds a day
in that one location.

VAN ZELLER: I'm meeting a
contact in an area she says is

the distribution epicenter of
the state's multi‐billion dollar

black market.

Ironically, this few blocks in
downtown LA where it all goes

down is just around the corner
from the hall of justice.

SARAH: People that I meet
all the time in business are

telling me that they
have distros downtown.

VAN ZELLER: Sarah's
what you call a small fish.

She works as a trimmer inside
distribution warehouses

in this area.

Some legal, and some not,
so we're hiding her identity.

SARAH: We're going
to meet George,

who is a big player
in this industry.

He has several distributions
moving millions of dollars a

day of product.

VAN ZELLER: That's right.

$1 million a day.

This is the big leagues.

But even with so
much on the line,

her contact has agreed,
reluctantly, to meet with me.

I know that you've been
trying to help us get access

to this world.

How long have you been
trying to convince him?

SARAH: For about two months.

VAN ZELLER:
Has George made
any requests in terms of what

we can and cannot film?

SARAH: Yeah, a
pre‐mixed vocal changer.

VAN ZELLER: So not only does
he want us to distort his

voice once this episode airs,

he also wants to distort
his voice immediately.

SARAH: Exactly.

VAN ZELLER: That's the
first time we've ever
been asked to do that.

SARAH: Yeah, people
are scared in this industry.

VAN ZELLER: Okay.

♪ ♪

(sirens)

VAN ZELLER: This is sort of a
distribution center for weed?

VAN ZELLER: I found my
way inside a distribution

warehouse in LA, in an area
considered the heart of the

marijuana black market.

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: One of
the big players in that world.

Someone I'm told moves more
than $1 million worth of

product daily, has
agreed to meet me.

Well, kind of.

Okay. We ready?

GEORGE: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: So I'm
currently in an empty room and

in front of a table with
nine pounds of all sorts of

different kinds of weed.

George, I'm just explaining
what's happening to the camera

because it feels really
weird that it's just me here,

so I'm just explaining.

GEORGE: Yeah. Yeah.

VAN ZELLER:
George didn't
want his actual voice recorded.

George is actually
out of view.

Didn't feel comfortable
being on camera.

But he can hear me
because of my mic.

So we're using a voice
changer that alters it

while he speaks.

If I were a buyer,
I would come in here,

you'd have all
these bags out here with
the different samples.

They look at it, smell it.

GEORGE: Yeah. Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Possibly try it.
Smoke it.

VAN ZELLER:
And then they place orders.
Is that it?

GEORGE: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: On the
table is a variety of high‐end,

exotic indoor
and outdoor weed.

Each pound bag costs
between $2,000 and $4,000.

What's the largest order
you've ever received?

GEORGE: I mean...

VAN ZELLER:
Just one order that size is
worth around $1 million.

How much money is there to
be made in ill*gal weed?

VAN ZELLER:
I decide not to push it.

So, George, you operate just
as a black market business or

do you operate also
in legal business?

VAN ZELLER:
A licensed as well.

If you were to give me a
general sense of how much

money you make with your legal
versus your ill*gal business,

what would you say?

VAN ZELLER: Wow.

VAN ZELLER: So why operate a
legal business if you're not

even making any
money out of that?

VAN ZELLER: You know, you
don't feel comfortable with

even being in the same room;

why do you think there is
so much fear and mistrust?

VAN ZELLER:
Do you carry a g*n?

VAN ZELLER: Okay.
So I think we're close guys.

Getting people to talk
to us has been insanely hard
but we got sent a location,

somewhere downtown
where we're going to

meet with someone.

Not entirely sure who yet.

Unlike George, who operates
on both sides of the law,

I'm told that this new contact
runs a distribution warehouse

that is 100% ill*gal,
it's known as a trap house

and it's just
a few blocks away.

Oh, here, is it here?

But the only other
information I'm given is

where to meet him.

Kind of looks like a,
just a parking structure.

At first glance, there's
nothing out of the ordinary.

Are we sure this
is the right place?

But once we reach the top,
I can't believe my eyes.

(sirens)

(sirens and horns)

VAN ZELLER: I'm
meeting a contact who supposedly

operates a trap house
selling bulk purchases in

the weed black market.

This is very strange.

It turns out this
location is more than just

a meeting point.

They're looking at us.

I would put cameras down.

It's the trap house itself.

Hi, how are you?
Mariana. Nice to meet you.

(overlapping chatter).

VAN ZELLER: Right there, at
the top of this random parking

garage in downtown LA,

they're dealing millions of
dollars' worth of ill*gal weed.

CASPER: You're more
beautiful than I thought.

VAN ZELLER: Oh, thank you.
You're making me blush
right off the bat.

CASPER: I might have to ask,

I might have to
ask you out on a date.

VAN ZELLER: Depends on how
you answer my questions.

CASPER: Oh, okay. Okay.

VAN ZELLER: Wait,
so this is your place?

CASPER: Uh, maybe.

VAN ZELLER: Their operation
is so brazenly out in the open,

that I'm amazed they
can pull it off.

CASPER: So, yo, why are
you doing this though?

For real?

VAN ZELLER: Why am I doing this?

CASPER: Yeah.
And are you the cops?

VAN ZELLER:
No, I am not the cops.

CASPER: Are you, are
you, are you DEA?

VAN ZELLER: No, I'm not DEA.

But as we talk,

they lay out the upside
to a location like this.

So you sell.

Is this sort of like
a distribution center?

CASPER: This business is
based on a black market model.

We're a trap.

You know what I mean?

A glorified trap house.

VAN ZELLER: It's kind of
like the Costco for weed.

Ample parking, bulk purchases,
and lots of free samples.

So people come in here.

And that's what we're seeing?

These customers coming up here
and buying weed from you guys?

CASPER:
Yeah, they come in and they
donate their funds and capital.

And they get to leave with some
great flowers and products.

VAN ZELLER:
Weed grown all over California.

By outlaws like Buddy,
the Mexican cartels,

the Chinese syndicates,

it all ends up moving
through an underground

distro just like this.

How much money do you think
is made here every day?

CASPER: Um, it pays the bills.

Pays the bills.

VAN ZELLER:
I mean, it does more than
just pay the bills, I assume?

CASPER: What would you
say, what we're doing?

MAN: 700,000 a week.

VAN ZELLER: 700,000 a week?

No.

CASPER: I mean,
this is a billion dollar
industry, so, you know,

I'm just somebody getting
a little piece of the pie.

You know, a little
small piece.

VAN ZELLER: Their shelves
are stocked with the bags

of what looks like
brand‐named marijuana.

Some of the
same kinds that I've seen
sold at legal dispensaries.

We have no way to confirm.

But they swear
it's the real deal.

And if it is, then buyers are
getting some of the world's

best weed without having to
pay a cent of those hefty taxes.

So the weed that you sell here,
where does it go?

CASPER: I really don't know.

I don't, I don't, I
don't ask any questions.

VAN ZELLER: I mean,
if they're buying this amount,

all these pounds,
they're probably going
and reselling it, right?

CASPER: Yeah.
The black market businesses,
that's what you do.

You buy tennis
shoes at one price,

and you flip it and sell
it for another price.

VAN ZELLER:
In the supply chain,

think of it as the place that
dealers go to get their weed

in bulk before selling it
to individual consumers.

Do you guys, because
we were able to pretty much

just drive up.

Do you guys have lookouts?

Do you have people knowing
who comes in and out?

CASPER: Yeah. I mean, there's a,

there's a strategic
system in place.

VAN ZELLER: Is that your
security guard behind you?

CASPER: No.

VAN ZELLER: This guy stands,
with the g*n behind you?

CASPER: That's not a g*n.
VAN ZELLER: That's what?
CASPER: That's not a g*n.

VAN ZELLER: That's not a g*n?
What is it?

CASPER: I don't know.
VAN ZELLER: Okay.

CASPER: I can be
honest with you though.

VAN ZELLER: Please.
CASPER: I got things around.

And if there's a problem,
somebody's going to be

attentive to it, for real.

VAN ZELLER: Got it. Okay.
I won't ask you again then.

CASPER: Aw, you're so sweet.

I knew you were sweet.

I'm about to get that
date, I'm telling you.

VAN ZELLER:
I asked if I can
talk to any of the buyers,

but he's not willing to risk
losing a potential client.

Do you, would you
want to be legalized?

Would you want to run a
legal operation, if you could?

CASPER: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Or do you
prefer the black market?

CASPER: No, I'd rather go legal.

VAN ZELLER:
So, what do you think would
happen to you if you got caught?

VAN ZELLER: Why do you
say it's a risky business?

CASPER: Because firepower.

VAN ZELLER: Hmm. g*ns.

CASPER: Right now, you know,
its jungle rules.

You know, the bigger dog wins.

VAN ZELLER: Still,
after seeing the massive
size of this operation,

the question remains,
who's buying all of this weed?

And where is it headed?

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER:
I still have one question
that I need to answer.

So, I'm heading to
an old connection.

So we're meeting a guy I know
here in LA that traffics g*ns,

and fentanyl, and meth,
and a bunch of other drugs.

There's police everywhere.

Dude, I can totally
smell it from here.

(Juan laughs)

Right?

JUAN: Yes, ma'am.

VAN ZELLER: I've been all over
the state working my way

through the supply chain.

What I want to know is where
is all this weed going?

So what do you
have here, Juan?

JUAN: Got a little
bit of crystal meth.

VAN ZELLER: Is that a pound?

JUAN: Yeah.
It's about a pound right here.

We got a little bit of
different types of marijuana.

We got a little bit of
everything, you know.

VAN ZELLER: In the ten years
that you've been in business,

what's made you most money?

JUAN: The marijuana.

VAN ZELLER: Where
do you get it from?

JUAN: Different sources.
Can't say.

VAN ZELLER: But do you
grow it or do you buy it?

JUAN: Yeah, we buy it in bulk.

VAN ZELLER:
And then you package it.

JUAN: Mm‐hmm.

VAN ZELLER:
Is this your packaging?

JUAN: Yes, ma'am.

VAN ZELLER:
And then you sell it.

JUAN: Yeah, this
right here is about an ounce.

VAN ZELLER:
Ooh. That's so intense.
That is...

JUAN: Yes, this is the
good stuff right here.

(knock)

Oh, excuse me.
I got somebody, real quick.

VAN ZELLER: Is it a client?
JUAN: Yes.
VAN ZELLER: Customer?

JUAN: Yes, ma'am.
Come on in, guys.

MAN: How are you, brother?
JUAN: Pretty good. Pretty good.

VAN ZELLER: Hi, how are you?
MAN: All right.

JUAN: I hope you
guys don't mind,

I'm doing a little
documentary in here.

VAN ZELLER: Hi, Mariana.
MAN: Yeah. Yeah.
JUAN: But we Good. We good.

VAN ZELLER: Obviously,
you guys are covered already.
So, you know.

MAN: It's that COVID.
We gotta be like this.

MAN 2: Right.

MAN: Oh, yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Uh, do
you guys live in LA?

MEN: Nah.

VAN ZELLER: Oh? You, where?

MAN: We live in the
south side Brooklyn.

MAN: We live in the, yeah.
VAN ZELLER: Where?
MAN: South side of Brooklyn.

VAN ZELLER:
You're from New York?

MAN: Hell yeah.

VAN ZELLER: What,
did you come all the way to

California to buy weed?

MAN: Hell yeah.
VAN ZELLER: You serious?
MAN: Yeah.

♪ Do‐do‐do‐do‐do‐do‐do ♪

♪ This is... ♪♪

MAN: Light that up.

VAN ZELLER:
In fact, up to 80% of
the weed grown in

California ends up in the hands
and the lungs of consumers

outside the state.

MAN: So what kind of questions
you wanted to ask me?

VAN ZELLER: So you're going to
fly with, or do you fly or do
you drive back?

MAN: I get it back...
VAN ZELLER: My mind is blown.
So do you fly?

VAN ZELLER: You teleport?
MAN: Teleport.

VAN ZELLER: That means you don't
want to answer my question?

MAN: That means we teleport.

VAN ZELLER: That's the
weed talking right here.

MAN: Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

♪ You held me tight,
you felt desire ♪♪

VAN ZELLER:
Transporting weed
over state lines is a felony.

MAN: Gotta risk it
to get the biscuit.

You know what I'm saying?

VAN ZELLER: Their
preferred destinations?

JUAN: Here we go.

VAN ZELLER: States where
weed is still ill*gal.

BUDDY: They'll end up close
to East Coast or Midwest,

Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida.

REPORTER (over TV):
The drugs were found
inside a car being hauled

cross country from California.

YU: And it will go as far as
flushing New York, to Atlanta.

REPORTER: The drugs were
headed to New Jersey.

VAN ZELLER:
Where it sells for double,
even triple the price.

MICKEY: Where you're really
going to make your money is in

black market in other states.

MAN: The marijuana
in California is about

$1,000 a pound.

MICKEY:
Ships it, drives it, sends it,
wherever it's ill*gal.

MAN: Once you get to Alabama,

the price may be
$3,500 per pound.

VAN ZELLER: The
way it's transported.

MAN: Every way
you can possibly think of.

Air. Mail. Train. Bus. Mules.

MAN 2: RVs.

With the people that put it
in their luggage on airplanes.

Grandma's driving.

I mean, literally,
if there was camels,

it would be camels.

VAN ZELLER:
But I'm told if you're truly
a big player in the game,

you're in the trucking business.

REPORTER (over TV):
Police unloaded 500 pounds
of marijuana from a semi,

REPORTER 2 (over TV): 60 bags
piled high with marijuana.

REPORTER 3 (over TV):
The drug sniffing dog
pointed police to boxes of

narcotics in the trailer.

MICKEY: You put
on a shirt, tie,

put a little cross in
the rearview mirror.

And if you get pulled over
when you're driving pounds of

weed, you just go,

"I know that God brought
you here for a reason.

Do you believe in our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ?"

VAN ZELLER: Since
2012, recreational marijuana

legalization continues to gain
approval at the ballot box,

one state after another.

If California is
any indication,

get ready for some black
market grows in your forests

and in the house next door.

That is if they
aren't there already.

BUDDY: We're all black
market and we always will be.

VAN ZELLER:
One thing seems certain.

Until the US decides to
legalize weed nationwide.

OFFICER: Sheriff's department,
search warrant!

VAN ZELLER: The outlaws
will have the upper hand.

SHAGGY: The black market will
be here as long as the legal

market keeps screwing up.

VAN ZELLER: Did you think that
legalization was going to

change anything?

RICH: I honestly thought
that, "Okay, that's it.
The marijuana team is done.

There won't be any
need for them anymore."

OFFICER: Sheriff's department,
search warrant!

Search warrant.
Search warrant.