California law enforcement officials are investigating a state-licensed cannabis cultivator in Lake County after the unexplained death of a worker there, authorities said Wednesday.
Yufang Lan, 46, died Aug. 27 in intensive care after an unidentified male brought her to an area hospital six days earlier, according to the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
She was “unresponsive” and suffering from cardiac arrest when the male dropped her off on Aug. 21, authorities said.
What killed a California cannabis cultivation worker?
According to investigators, Yufang had been working at a permitted cannabis cultivation operation on the 11000 block of Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake, California.
State Department of Cannabis Control records do not show a cultivator with a similar address, though not all state licensees’ addresses are publicly available.
A spokesperson for the state DCC told MJBizDaily the agency could not comment.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another Lake County cultivator told MJBizDaily that little was known about Yufang’s employer, other than it was said to be owned by a local restaurateur.
What’s killing cannabis cultivation workers?
Four days after Yufang’s death, authorities executed a search warrant at the property after developing “information regarding the possible use of illegal and potentially hazardous chemicals at the property,” authorities said.
At the still-unidentified cultivator, law enforcement discovered:
- “Approximately 20” other workers
- 55,069 cannabis plants
- 6,000 pounds of processed cannabis
- Illegal chemicals
- Two firearms
- “Approximately 20,000 gallons of contaminated liquid requiring specialized disposal”
“The investigation is expected to continue for several months,” authorities said.
In addition to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the California National Guard, and the California Department of Justice assisted with the investigation, a sheriff’s department spokesperson said.
No charges have been filed and no further information was immediately available.
A call Wednesday to Lake County permitting officials was not returned.
Is cannabis cultivation hazardous to workers?
While labor violations and unhealthy working environments at illicit-market cannabis operations are widely reported, worker deaths are exceedingly rare in legal cannabis.
To date, work-related asthma has led to the deaths of at least two workers – one in Massachusetts in 2022 and a second, more recent death in California, according to researchers.
State health officials have not released details.
In January 2022, a 27-year-old worker at a Trulieve Cannabis Corp. cultivation facility complained of breathing difficulties. She later collapsed while on the job, suffered cardiac arrest and died.
A later Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report identified “the hazards of ground cannabis dust” as the key factor in Lorna McMurrey’s death.
Massachusetts regulators imposed a $350,000 fine on the company, which ceased operations in the state in 2023.
But according to a later OSHA report, several of McMurrey’s co-workers also showed signs of work-related asthma.
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Other states have cracked down on the use of hazardous chemicals at licensed cannabis grows.
In July, two men employed at a licensed medical marijuana grow in Oklahoma were indicted on federal charges for allegedly smuggling in 40 pounds of pesticides from China.
Another cannabis worker in California died last summer during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid. No charges have been filed.
