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Massive marijuana grow operations

From Northern California to England to Chile, these are the biggest marijuana grow operations in the world.

Lance Cartelli
Lance Cartelli is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer based in Los Angeles, California.
Lance Cartelli
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1 of 19 Martin Bernetti/Getty Images

Daya Foundation, Chile

Whether it's legal (think California, Colorado and a few other states) or illegal (think most other states) marijuana is a huge business with massive demand.

And that means plants. Lots and lots and lots and lots of plants...whether they're technically legal or not.

Colbin, Chile, is home to the largest legal marijuana field in Latin America. Opened in 2016, the farm, run by the Daya Foundation, is expecting its first harvest to bring in 1.5 metric tons of marijuana.

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2 of 19 Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

Daya Foundation's 7,000 plants

Daya Foundation President Ana Maria Gazmuri has said the farm has nearly 7,000 plants. And although the production, sale and distribution of cannabis is illegal in Chile, authorities have allowed patients to use pot for certain chronic conditions.

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3 of 19 Tweed Inc.

Park Lane Farms, Ontario, Canada

Park Lane Farms, based in Ontario, Canada, operates a 350,000-square-foot, legal medicinal marijuana greenhouse. Park Lane Farms' sister company, Tweed Inc., sells the weed online, direct to consumers. Of course, Snoop Dogg (pictured at left) is a fan.

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4 of 19 Ganja Ma

Ganja Ma Gardens, California

Northern California's Emerald Triangle, widely known as the largest marijuana-producing region in the nation, is home to Ganja Ma Gardens. Run by the "Cannabis Couple" Swami Chaitanya and Nikki Lastreto, this 190-acre farm has "99 plants, in a variety of 19 strains," per a Dope Magazine interview.

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5 of 19 Americann

Americann, Massachusetts

Americann, based in Colorado, plans to open the country's largest marijuana grow facility in 2017. Breaking ground in Freetown, Massachussets in March, the canna-business park is expected to be 1 million square feet, including energy-efficient greenhouses for cultivation and plant-processing spaces on a 53-acre tract.

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6 of 19 BuddyBoyFarm.com

Buddy Boy Farm, Washington

Based in eastern Washington, the Buddy Boy Farm has been cultivating cannabis for 40 years. The 30,000-square-foot farm run by Steve Walser and his wife, Margaret Ann, produces more than 100 varieties.

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7 of 19 GW Pharmaceuticals

GW Pharmaceuticals, England

The Kent-based GW Pharmaceuticals has two greenhouses holding 30,000 marijuana plants. Since it opened in 1998, GW has produced more than two million plants. The cannabis is used for research on a medicinal drug, Sativex, that helps those suffering from multiple sclerosis.

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8 of 19 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Compton warehouse

In 2016, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department seized nearly 2,700 marijuana plants being grown in a Compton, California warehouse. According to a sheriff's spokesman, the cannabis had a street value of $6.1 million.

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9 of 19 NurPhoto/Getty Images

3.3 tons of marijuana seized, Indonesia

In 2015, Palmerah police in Indonesia seized 3.3 tons of marijuana in Tangerang. But what the police did with the confiscated drugs might have you giggling uncontrollably.

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10 of 19 Barcroft Media/Getty Images

3.3 tons of marijuana burned, Indonesia

Following the seizure, Palmerah police proceeded to burn the cash crop. Residents of the town of Tangerang reportedly suffered from dizziness and a buzzed feeling after inhaling the potent smoke.

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11 of 19 Antonio Nava/AFP/Getty Images

Largest illegal operation, Mexico

Back in 2011, the Mexican army uncovered what they called, at the time, the largest marijuana plantation in the nation. The Baja California farm, spanning 300 acres, is roughly 168 times larger than the soccer field in Mexico City's famous Azteca Stadium. The seized marijuana was valued at $153 million.

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12 of 19 Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

Toribio, Colombia

Nearly half of Colombia's marijuana is reportedly grown in the small Colombian town of Toribio. Colombian police estimate that nearly 250 acres are dedicated to growing cannabis illegally there.

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13 of 19 Vince Chandler, Denver Post/Getty Images

Los Suenos Farms, Colorado

Pueblo County, dubbed by locals as the "The Silicon Valley of Marijuana," is home to a number of cannabis collectives, including Los Suenos Farms. The farm has 36 acres of outdoor marijuana plants and a 34,000-square-foot warehouse for growing the state-legalized drug.

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14 of 19 GFarmaLabs

GFarmaLabs, Desert Hot Springs, California

GFarmaLabs will build Southern California's first marijuana cultivation farm in Desert Hot Springs in 2017. The 100,000-square-foot compound will have three greenhouses, a packing facility, and a guard house. Desert Hot Springs officials believe the farm could bring in an estimated $800,000 in tax revenue.

Pictured is a Northern California GFarmaLabs operation.

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15 of 19 John Greim, LightRocket/Getty Images

Biggest outdoor farm, Virginia

According to the Patrick County Sheriff's Office, Virginia's biggest outdoor marijuana farm was discovered in 2015. The sheriff's seized 30,255 marijuana plants found in 35 different grow areas. The cannabis had a street value between $30 million and $105 million.

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16 of 19 Green Barn Farms

Green Barn Farms, Washington

Green Barn Farms, located at the base of Huckleberry Mountain in Washington, is a Tier III Clean Green-certified grow farm. The farm also donates 4.2 percent of profits to local schools and charities.

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17 of 19 Mettrum

Clever growing at Mettrum

This legal operation in Ottawa, Canada grows more than a dozen different strains in 42 high-tech shipping containers.

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18 of 19 San Joaquin Sheriff's Office

40,000 plants seized in Stockton, California

In 2016, law enforcement in Stockton, California said it had discovered a warehouse that contained approximately 40,000 illegally grown marijuana plants.

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19 of 19 Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Wait for it: 100,000 kilos a year

In Alberta, Canada, Aurora Cannabis Inc. is building an 800,000-square-foot warehouse expected to produce 100,000 kilograms of legal marijuana per year. The Leduc County facility is expected to open in October.

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