Nation & World News
Human trafficking booming in California's shadowy weed industry
Newbury Park, CA. Ventura County Sheriff Department Officers along with DEA Agents cut and gather 800 pounds of maturing Marijuana plants found growing under a canopy of Oak trees in a ravine near 2331 Borchard Road in Newbury Park on Friday morning. A Ventura County Sheriff helicopter lifted the seized crop out from the ravine and lowered it onto a waiting truck for disposal. Police made one arrest early in the morning at the scene and were cautious as another suspect was still at large. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
California's marijuana business is worth billions, but it's largely an illegal industry. And as it operates underground, human trafficking linked to it is booming.
"None of this is monitored," a marijuana trimmer told Reveal. "No one's going to know you're here or not here. It's easy to go missing, I guess. It's easy for bad people to take advantage."
In Humboldt county, 352 people were reported missing in 2015. That's more missing people per capita than any other county in California.
The marijuana industry attracts a lot of young workers. Many of them have stories of abuse at businesses operating outside the law. Legalizing marijuana could help bring the industry out of the shadows. Californians vote on the issue in November.
