Michael Colbert moved to the Antelope Valley desert in the 1990s, and to pass time — there is only so much he can do in his remote trailer — he picked up the guitar he's played for 40 years to play the blues.

“It makes you feel good, you know? You got your blues, and everything’s going bad, and you just pick up your guitar and you play,” he said.

Colbert lives on a small fixed income, but when a friend of a friend came to his land a few months ago and asked if he would be willing to offer his property for a marijuana greenhouse for some extra money, Colbert said, “Why not?” 

"They said it was legal," said Colbert. "They had licenses and they offered me a halfway decent piece of change. And you hear that 'cha ching,' what do you have to do? Nothing. Really? All I have to do is let you put it here."

Colbert was supposed to be paid during harvest this summer, but just a few weeks ago, the greenhouse ended up raided as part of a massive $1 billion illegal cultivation bust by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

More than 200 search warrants were served, 109 arrests made and 375,000 plants seized across the valley.

"It’s heartbreaking," Colbert said. "It was so pretty. You should have seen it."

Colbert wasn't taken into custody due to his rare medical condition but was cited for a misdemeanor and has been cooperating with authorities.

Officials said they believe international cartels were behind some of the larger scale farms, but Colbert doesn't think that was the case.

“No, did not act like it," Colbert said. "You think of cartel, you think of godfather."

The presence of cartels and the surge in illegal marijuana grows both concern Pearblossom Rural Town Council President Christopher Minsal, who explained that many of the residents in his community are underprivileged, on low fixed incomes and easily exploited by cannabis growers.

"People are desperate for money," Minsal said. "To live in California if you are not rich, or almost rich, you are going to work hard for the rest of your life and probably struggle. And it was never like that growing up out here."

Minsal is a father and lifelong resident of the area who has been advocating for more commercial cannabis regulation, so that the grows are controlled and the community can see some tax dollars.

“We just had a $1 billion bust," he said. "Imagine the couple billion that went through. None of that money goes back to my kids’ school, and none of that money goes to back up law enforcement."

And of course, there is Colbert, who is also frustrated that none of the money went to him either. He ultimately planned to help his family with his share of the grow deal.

"I could have used the money," he said. "I got grandkids, six of them. It was easy money."