re. safeway. ingredients for life. up next on a second look. marijuana in california. a story of how a century ago this became the first state to outlaw it. are the dispensaries breaking the law and how they get their supplies. we'll look at the growing problem of pot growers using private land for profit. and we will look at canada

for their recreational use. good evening and welcome to a second look. i'm julie haener. this year marks the 100th anniversary of the first law in the united states to ban marijuana. it was enacted right here in california in 1913. at the time it seemed a little strange because hardly anyone knew about marijuana and everyone fewer used it. in 2001, ktvu craig heaps brought us this story about anti marijuana laws here in california and throughout the nation. >> reporter: if you lit up a marijuana cigarette on san francisco's market street at the turn of the 20th century, two things would have been different from today. first it was legal. and second hardly anyone would have known what it was. because marijuana use was almost unheard of in the united states. that's why it seems very strange that california passed one of the first anti marijuana

laws in 1913. >> you read the newspapers from 1913 or before you will find almost no mention of cannabis or hashish or indian ham. the world marijuana was unknown. >> reporter: henry j. finger spear headed the first anti marijuana law. >> it was his idea that california's anti narcotics law should be as simple as possible. >> reporter: lawmakers were concerned about immigrants from india that were known to smoke marijuana. the fear is now that they are initiating our whites into this

habit. the fear heightened more as the revolution sent many immigrants to the united states. in fact, many of the early anti drug laws that states and cities task seemed tied to the fear of foreigners. for example, san francisco enacted the first anti narcotics law in the united states in 1875. outlawing opium bins. >> it was directed very specific at the chinese. >> reporter: authorities made a display of destroying opium pipes in front of san francisco city hall. as people across america pushed for prohibitions of all kinds. many of america's first anti marijuana laws came in states where mexican citizens had migrated in search of war. california, texas, colorado and

montana. others came in states as new york. with a fear that as they outlawed, cocaine, heroin and morphine people would turn to marijuana as an alternative. still there was no national law against marijuana. that is until 1937. the 13 year national prohibition against alcohol had ended four years earlier. and led by the head of the federal bureau of narcotics henry anne slinger, the country turned its attention to other drugs. a movie marihuana gave people the sense that marijuana would drive people crazy. and despite opposition the

marijuana tax rule flew through the office. it had something to do with a thing called marijuana. i think it's a narcotic of some kind. the bill passed easily in both the house and senate and president roosevelt signed it with little public attention. in california there were few marijuana arrests over the next two decades. but in the mid-1960s the numbers rose dramatically. increasing tenfold from 1962 to 1967. >> there are more and more people who are turning on every day. and who are learning how to use this in a good fashion. the courts will simply need to recognize this. >> reporter: in 1968, 50,000 marijuana arrests accounted for more than half the drug prosecutions in the state. in the 1980s, everyone as federal enforcement got tougher, marijuana became one of california's top cash crops.

making work for a will the of enforcement agents. california voters passed proposition 14 legalizer medical marijuana. the united states supreme court said that federal laws outlaws its use everyone for medical use. still to come, questions about how some medical marijuana dispensaries get their supplies. and a bit later, public profit on private land. how pot growers have moved in on state and private property.

tonight on a second look. marijuana in california. 17 years ago the state's voters passed proposition 214 legalizing the possession and use of marijuana for medical

purposes. but who is allowed to use it and grow it? mike mibach looked into the laws. >> these people are armed now. it's changed in the last decade. >> reporter: deputies pulled thousands of marijuana plants from canyons. >> arming themselves with rifles. >> reporter: in 2007 they destroyed 2.9 million pot plants in california. in 20, 2008 5.3 million plants. the supply is going up, the reason, cannabis clubs. there's no word on how big of a

business it is. he -- federal prosecutors argued his collective brought in $2.9 million. most of that time his dispensary operated as a nonprofit violating federal law. >> dispensaries don't tell us where they are getting shipments from. >> reporter: collectives should record the source of their marijuana. two bay area dispensaries admitted they and many others do not. >> we just don't keep those type of records in terms of who we purchase from. >> do you keep records about who you purchase from? >> no. >> why? >> because we've been advised

not to. >> reporter: collectives can buy cannabis only from nonprofit growers who are also patients of that collective. because the growers are patients, the records if they are even kept are confidential. >> we're protecting patient data. we're purchasing medicine from patients so we maintain hepa compliants. those patients and what they're doing have a right to privacy. >> when those people are save from prosecution, that's a process we'll be able to do. >> reporter: the obamaed administration has announced they will not interfere with patient medical marijuana patients. batenhop told an officer he sells marijuana to

dispensaries. >> that is the allegation in this case. that he is someone who delivers from point a to point b. >> does he? >> does he, well i think we'll have to wait and see. but sure. you can't ask me that question. >> reporter: authorities searched petaluma and. they found two safer. they found evidence of three marijuana grows and $50,000 in cash. the affidavit abuses avenhof of running a drug grow. but he does admit of selling marijuana to two different dispensaries in oakland. >> were you guys excepting medicinal marijuana from him? >> not that i know of.

>> reporter: officials went looking for documents, but once there they were told no such documents were available. >> when they went to look for the avery documents, what saved everybody is that they said they kept no records. >> reporter: robert jacob would like to see co-ops dispense marijuana in a safe way. >> right now dispensarys have no control of where the marijuana comes from. how it's cultivated or controls to ensure that the cannabis is being produced and processed in a way that's as a not for profit. >> reporter: he says it's the government's responsibility to regulate. if they don't, the buying and selling side of medical marijuana will remain in the shadows. pot grows on state and federal land. why authorities say it's a

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with qualifying bundles. welcome back to a second look. even with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in 1996 there's still a huge illegal marijuana industry in california. and for more than a decade law enforcement officers say they have noticed a growing trend. pop farmers cultivated their crop on state and federal land. norene jaramillo filed this report. >> reporter: the war on drugs is not solely concentrated along our borders it's now in our own backyard. places such as santa clara county where hundreds of marijuana plants were recently discovered tucked away in joseph grant county park. >> this isn't some kids plant s

in the park. this is a large operation. >> reporter: it's a multi agency task force headed by the state department of justice. it's purpose, to find these pot farms and destroy them. the state attorney general's office says the mexican cartels have discovered it's safer and more profitable to grow marijuana in california in our national forests and on private land. >> over the last five years we've really seen this balloon. what we used to call a big garden between 300 to 500 plants we now find typical. one of our big gardens is now

25 to 50,000 plants. >> reporter: it's a lucrative business often with hired help. >> they're paid to stay up here for their duration. part of their job is to guard and maintain these plants. >> reporter: at the hidden field in santa clara county we found sleeping bags, food and water. pots and pans. agents say they saw two latinos running from the camp but investigators were unable to find them. what they did find was 2,000 pot plants valued at $6 million. and an automatic weapon and ammunition. agents say it's a reminder that not only are they at risk but so is the general public. >> they're putting the public in danger. anybody who is coming out here for camping or hiking is in serious danger of being confronted with these people with weapons. >> there were a couple of

instances last year where the suspects in the garden engaged law enforcement officers that invading the gardens. >> reporter: those raids happened last september in shasta. the shooting ended up in the deaths of two garden keepers. in the napa valley just minutes away from downtown napa, a pot plantation was found on private land on a wild horse ranch. the plants were tucked away in an area so secluded, agents had to be flown in by helicopter and dropped into the plant. hours later they returned with bundle after bundle of pot plants. plants were seized and then popped into a shredded. within seconds, an estimated $5 million of marijuana were gone.

dale garanger is the director of normal. he says the u.s. government created this problem. >> well first of all they are the ones who drove marijuana on to the public lands. when they passed their laws to confiscation people's lands for growing marijuana. >> reporter: garanger says he doesn't believe the -- agents disagree saying not only are mexican cartels responsible but they are setting up shop right under our nose. here in the bay area. we had an investigation of one of these large cultivations. we found evidence at that site that links to one of our drug trafficking organizations.

that was one of those organizations that had been involved in meth manufacturing and distribution. there's the link between the poly drug dealing with these drug trafficking organizations that are based in mexico. they have the command and control structure up here in california. >> reporter: as for the money made from the pot plants, a lot of it goes back south of the border. >> it's not unlikely to find cars with hundreds of thousands of the dollars driving back to mexico. >> this remains a multi billion dollars business for marijuana growers. when we come back on a second look, we visit british columbia for a look at marijuana in canada. where recreational use is still technically illegal. meatball marinara, built fresh from the bread up for just $2 each all december long. subway. eat fresh. for avo: thesales event all december long"sis back. drive" which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta.

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approving the legalization of the use of marijuana. in canada the recreational use of marijuana is illegal at least technically but enforcement there for the most part is lax. so you can find places like tray vu did where they can sell, buy and use marijuana openly. >> reporter: at the cafe where cigarette smoking is not allowed, customers come in for lunch and smoke marijuana. >> this is premium stuff. >> reporter: the cafe didn't sell pot but patrons can bring in their own. roll a joint and smoke it without fear of the police. >> how was that? >> this is a pretty good plant in this stuff.

it's pretty good. definitely the highlight of my trip to vancouver. >> reporter: the cafe's owners claim no one has ever been arrested here for smoking pot. what they're smoking is called bc bud grown right in british columbia. they call it the most potent marijuana they have seen with by far the highest level of thc the active ingredient in pot. >> the marijuana comes from mexico or thailand would run three to 4% thc content. >> and this is how much thc? >> 25%. pretty much rocket ship pot. now take a whiff. >> it's very strong. >> reporter: it's now becoming the favorite buddy of british columbia smugglers. smugglers are making millions of the dollars bringing it into

the united states. the royal canadian mounted police says the price jumped the minute bc bud crosses the border. >> over here it's $2,000 u.s. border. if you want to walk 15 feet it raises to $15 u.s. a pound. the price keeps climbing as the pot keeps moving south. much of it is ending up in major west coast cities including seattle. los angeles and san francisco where it carries a premium price. >> it's a high grade canadian marijuana will be in a price level per pound between five and $7,000. >> reporter: u.s. custom agents seized 1,500-pound of marijuana in the canadian border. they're now making an arrest for smuggling every three days or so. agents say they have found pot hidden in spare tires and stuffed in secret compartments of vehicles all part of a marijuana trade worth billions of the dollars.

easy money when the border is as wide open as this. the 5,000-mile stretch of land separating the united states from canada is the world's largest unguarded border. in many spots all that separates the two countries is a shallow ditch. how easy is it to cross the canadian border well here i am in canada. now i'm in the united states. it's a border with miles of lonely roads. perfect for drug smuggling. >> they can just pull up and toss it across quick. and a body jumps on into this side and jumps in a car and they're gone. >> reporter: officials say they do not have enough workers to stem the smuggling from marijuana. one of their contacts is pete

groone. a farmer who says many come through his land. a few miles away from vancouver, bc bud is easy to find out on the streets. a dope dealer approached us offering to sell some pot. >> do you grow it? >> yeah. >> where do you grow it? >> in the basement of my house. >> reporter: the punishment for people caught selling. >> i got my fifth conviction for a pound of pot and they gave me 10 days. >> that's it? >> yeah. >> reporter: growing marijuana at home is now a cottage industry. the growers enboldened by light sentences. officers found an operation worth hundreds of thousands of the dollars. >> we've had one individual tell us he made $240,000 in less than 10 months work by renting two slots. two homes, yeah. >> reporter: but the marijuana drug trade is about more than just pot. in case after case, police say they are finding links to

cocaine and organized crime. a constant flow of drugs and money across a porus border. >> that's it for this week's second look. i'm julie haener. thank you for watching. 'round. a smoked, shank half ham ound. with starbucks at $6.99, serve coffee everyone savors. top it off with coffee-mate... just $2.79 for all kinds of flavors. turns out this season less is really so much more. so make your holiday merrier than ever before. safeway. ingredients for life.

gentlemen, i think i've come up with a fun way to get young people interested in science. physics mad-libs. now, give me a number. five. uh-huh. and an irrational constant. "e." and a funny greek letter. gamma. i said funny. upsilon? good one. and an electrical charge. positive. (laughs) perfect. sheldon: okay. get this. (clears throat) "professor jones told the symposium he had a new method "for calculating the mass of a muon. five times the limit of (laughs) 'e' to the upsilon as..."