West
Ex-cop turned legal pot farmer claims he’s bigger dealer than ‘anyone sitting in prison’
Kyle Kazan is a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who once had to arrest a man he pulled up next to at a red light who had a marijuana plant sticking out of his convertible with the top down.
“We stopped at the red light, and he had a giant plant in the back seat of his car,” Kazan told Fox News Digital. “And then, when I looked at him, people are laughing. I mean it was so ridiculous. And then he saluted me.”
Now Kazan’s one of the biggest legal pot growers in the country, the co-founder and CEO of Glass House Brands, which he says produces more than 600,000 pounds of weed a year and expects to break the million mark soon.
The company owns 6 million square feet of greenhouse space, he said, but is using less than half of that.
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Glass House Brands co-founder and CEO Kyle Kazan speaks via Zoom about the fairness of his sprawling legal marijuana business with thousands of nonviolent pot deals behind bars around the U.S. (Fox News Digital)
After breaking into the legal pot business with some shady partners, including an associate of the infamous LA mogul Suge Knight, Kazan said he cleaned things up, attracted legitimate investors and cultivated a California powerhouse.
But there’s a darker side of the legalized pot business, says the man who has delivered public speeches while wearing a shirt declaring, “No one should be in prison for a plant.”
Thousands of people are serving felony prison sentences for nonviolent marijuana dealing that pale in comparison to the scale of his operation.
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Thriving marijuana plants pack the Glass House greenhouse in southern California. (Glass House Brands)
“Justice, then, certainly isn’t blind now, is it?” Kazan said.
According to Kazan’s estimate, there are between 2,700 and 3,000 people imprisoned on marijuana distribution charges in federal prisons. There are thousands more in state prisons. The Last Prisoner Project, a Colorado-based nonprofit, estimates that in 2018 there were 32,000 inmates around the country on cannabis-related charges.
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That’s just wrong, Kazan argued, especially when none of those people moved anywhere near as much weight as his company.
An exterior photo of a row of Glass House Brands greenhouses in southern California. CEO Kyle Kazan says the company owns 6 million square feet of greenhouse space for its legal marijuana farming. (Glass House Brands)
He takes the issue seriously and has even flown across the country to speak on behalf of nonviolent marijuana dealers facing decades in prison.
“I flew down to the federal courthouse in Augusta, (Georgia), at the request of a guy named Jose Valero Jr. in 2022, because he reached out to me on social media and said, ‘I’m taking a plea. I’m going to get sentenced,’” Kazan told Fox News Digital.
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Valero was facing three charges related to eight pounds of pot, Kazan said. That’s about as much as he might sweep off the floor in one of his greenhouses and throw out on a given day, he said.
“That’s what I point out, like the judge, the defendant, everybody could own – legally – my stock with a Charles Schwab account, right now, from the courthouse,” he said. “And you’re sentencing this young man?”
Weldon Angelos, Bella Thorne, Kyle Kazan and Supa Peach pose before participating in a panel during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center March 19, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (Gary Miller/Getty Images for Glass House Brands)
He is calling for clemency for nonviolent dealers as well as reasonable regulations for the marijuana industry. And he has slammed politicians in both parties, especially President Biden, over the number of pot dealers still incarcerated today.
“Mr. Biden, unfortunately, has not wavered in his commitment to keeping people in prison, unless you’re a famous WNBA player sitting in Mr. Putin’s prison. And I’m happy she’s home, and I’m happy that he went to bat for her,” he said, wagging a pen in front of a camera.
“But you don’t have to trade away a merchant of death when you have this, and you just need 3,000 signatures to end it.”
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He said marijuana users should be treated like alcohol users — allowed to partake legally but limited to reasonable, safe behavior.
“San Francisco and the craziness in our state has made a mockery of my argument because they’re saying, ‘Oh, you just want people splayed out in the streets, and you want needles in parks where kids play,” he said. “No, I don’t. I also don’t want people out there running around with a beer, drinking in public. There needs to be some laws around this, but you can do this in a sane, rational way.”
Glass House Brands CEO Kyle Kazan says the legal marijuana grower produces more than 600,000 pounds of pot a year, far more than any dealer sitting in prison. (Glass House Brands)
Kazan also weighed in on a recent high-profile case involving a woman who fell into a “marijuana-induced psychosis” after smoking a high-potency strain of boutique pot, then fatally stabbed her boyfriend and plunged the knife into her own neck multiple times before police arrived.
He compared the high THC content she consumed to Jack Daniel’s whiskey having more alcohol than a beer.
“It’s a lot less potent, but when you drink enough of it, you’re going to get to the same place,” he said.
He said he disagreed with the outcome of her trial, in which she was acquitted.
“It needs to be some personal responsibility,” he said. “When I read that story, I shook my head. If you make a choice to obliterate yourself with alcohol or whatever, I think you should still bear the consequences of your actions.”
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California fireworks fans hungry for more high-powered pyrotechnics not sold in the state are heading for the Nevada border to get their illegal Fourth of July fix.
The Golden State only sells firecrackers that are certified “safe and sane” and sold by licensed sellers. But dozens of dealers in Nevada just miles from the California border have become a magnet for buyers looking for a bigger bang.
At Cosmic Boom Fireworks in Amargosa Valley, cashier Jovon Oseguera said business has picked up sharply among Californians.
“It’s making [us] busier, people from everywhere just come by in the past week or so with roughly 25 to 30% of customers in a day from California,” he said.
Oseguera said Californians are drawn to higher powered aerials “mostly mortar shells and fireworks cakes” they can’t buy in their own state.
At a Fourth of July party last year, a man lit an illegal $400 cake containing professional-grade explosives that malfunctioned and killed an 8-year-old girl.
“A lot of them ask if they can take the fireworks back across the state line, but I tell them there’s not much [they] could really take back, except… really small stuff,” Oseguera added.
While some Nevada stores require that customers fill out forms for their purchases, his shop only checks that buyers are over 18.
A worker at Blackjack Fireworks in Pahrump, Nevada, said that the shop attracts hundreds of buyers from outside Nevada, with a significant number arriving from California during the week of July 4.
“If you come to the store, there will be several hundred cars all year round,” said the employee, who declined to provide her name.
The staffer said some choose light the fireworks off near Walker Lake on the Nevada side, but the shop doesn’t keep track of where buyers go after their shopping sprees.
“I have no business asking where they are coming from or what their final destination will be, as it will be a violation of their rights,” the worker said.
Getty Images
According to the latest California Department of Public Health data from 2023, the state saw 200 nonfatal hospitalizations and 718 emergency department visits due to fireworks.
In 2024, Cal Fire reported over 1,200 illegal fireworks-related fires and hundreds of injuries.
“Each year, we continue to see illegal fireworks, particularly those purchased online or shipped into California from out of state, pose a significant threat to public safety, property, and our natural resources,” a Cal Fire spokesperson told The California Post.
While Cal Fire could not share details about sensitive operations ahead of July 4 or ongoing investigations, the department is “working in close partnership with local, state, federal, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies to investigate the illegal sale, distribution, and use of dangerous fireworks.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman urged the residents to report illegal fireworks activity, saying that celebrations with illegal fireworks and explosives are not harmless entertainment.
“These devices can kill people, causing devastating injuries and destroying entire neighborhoods,” he said.
The DA is also currently investigating several cases of illegal fireworks possession.
- East Los Angeles/Pico Rivera: Four individuals were charged after approximately 8,500 pounds of illegal fireworks and homemade explosive devices seized on June 22, 2026.
- South Los Angeles: Over 37,000 pounds of fireworks were discovered at a residence on May 27, 2026, leading to charges against four p eople, including child abuse charges for two defendants due to a child living in the home.
- 6th Street Bridge: Three individuals face 21 felony counts each after the LAPD Bomb Squad recovered homemade explosives from a car on May 2, 2026.
- Whittier: A seizure on January 13, 2026, uncovered over 24,000 pounds of fireworks and explosive-making materials in a storage unit near a preschool.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As families across the country gather together to celebrate the 4th of July, one family will reunite for the first time in years in El Paso.
Juan Escobar, an Albuquerque native, will finally be able to celebrate a holiday with his 14-year-old son, Andrew, all thanks to the El Paso Police Department.
Over the last three years, Escobar endured a long-standing search and custody battle over Andrew with his Miriam Felix, Andrew’s mom, which he originally won in 2023.
Not long after that custody victory, Andrew went with Felix for an overnight stay.
He never came home.
Missing posters said Andrew went missing June 25, 2023. He was 11 years old at the time.
Escobar hired a private investigator to uncover Andrew’s whereabouts. Investigation revealed Felix changed her name to Sophie Shelton and changed Andrew’s name to Oliver Shelton. The two reportedly moved to an area near Fort Collins, Colorado.
Suddenly, the case changed from a missing child to an abduction.
Escobar wasn’t able to find Andrew or Felix in Fort Collins.
After years of prayer and searching for answers, Juan received a phone call from El Paso Police last week.
In the call, EPPD said they had Felix in custody and Andrew waiting for him.
Escobar said Andrew told authorities he and his mom traveled to several countries over the three-year period, including Austria, Albania and Turkey.
He reportedly said he went to school online and just finished eighth grade.
However, his father is worried about his mental health.
“Physically, he’s well,” Escobar said. “But he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally.”
Escobar told ABC-7 police said Border Patrol identified Andrew as a missing person while he and Felix reportedly crossed into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, putting both of them into custody.
Escobar told ABC-7 his wife drove him down to El Paso and told him he wasn’t “in the condition to drive.”
He said his first instinct was to hug Andrew, since they used to love wrestling, but was told to give him space instead.
“The reality is that Andrew was an 11-year-old boy that was abducted and was moved across the country, and then moved out of the country and possibly overseas over the last three years,” Escobar said. “He’s a boy right now who has been in flight or fight mode for the last three years.”
Escobar said he’s now investigating how Andrew reportedly traveled around the world without being flagged as a missing person.
He also said he hopes Felix understands the gravity of what she’s done.
“This isn’t just trying to keep a father away from his son. This is breaking local law and breaking international law,” Escobar said. “I’m hopeful she understands what she’s done and she gets the help that she needs.”
Escobar also questioned how Felix afforded international trips.
As Andrew reunites with his father, Escobar has a simple message for parents and families this holiday weekend:
“Do what’s best for your children,” Escobar said. “Because ultimately, they’re what matter the most.”
Escobar said he’s excited to spend the holiday weekend with his son.
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