Legalization and regulation would help move the market away from operations like this to sustainable farmland operations
I'm honestly not sure that's true. Legalization and regulation will make it easier to grow legally, but it's hard to undercut someone who isn't paying for the land they use. This is similar to how cheap ASICs and electricity haven't pushed out botnets mining bitcoin - free is still cheaper than cheap.
When was the last time you went looking for moonshine or had moonshine offered to you?
If you know the right people - or are in the right areas - it's not unusual or even uncommon. I know people who make moonshine in California.
I think the vast majority of people DON'T know the right people.
Probably true! But I stumbled into it in Oakland without even trying, and large swaths of Appalachia have longstanding moonshining traditions.
moonshine isn't even the write analogy. When was the last time someone offered you home-grown tobacco?
Within the last five years, when a retired co-worker came through. (I guess that working on old cars didn't fill enough of his time.) Actually, he didn't offer it to me, but another guy in the office got a jar.
The problem is that, at least in Humboldt County, the legalization is designed to allow existing growers to continue to profit, while preventing new comers from getting started.
The impact of illegal grows in CA has worsened since legalization.