About a year we reported about a situation developing in Oklahoma after a law was passed in 2018 to legalize medical marijuana.
It not only opened up the floodgates to dispensaries, it opened up the floodgates to the Chinese mafia.
Officials have found that Chinese organized crime, taking advantage of cheap land and lax growing requirements, is fueling the black market. Of the 6,300 licensed marijuana grow farms, almost half of them are under investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
“These proceeds from these black market organizations go back to the criminal organizations themselves that are involved in homicides, terrorism, extortion, arson and murder,” Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said. “That is what you are supporting when you’re buying black market marijuana.”
Well, it’s getting even worse.
Police departments across the U.S., from Oklahoma to Oregon and even Maine, are experiencing an uptick in cannabis farms suspected to be financed by Chinese sources. Some of these farms are even thought to be associated with criminal organizations known as ‘triads’. Astonishing, isn’t it? The span of this illegal operation appears to be far-reaching, with Maine officers arresting three Chinese nationals at a cannabis farm earlier this year.
Picture being a local farmer in Oklahoma, striving for an honest living, and hearing whispers about these Chinese-run cannabis farms employing workers armed with AK-47s! Local farmer Larry Williams has voiced his worry about witnessing suspicious activities. He mentions spotting oddities like air conditioning units outside barns and fences at locations that typically wouldn’t have them.
According to reports some of these operations are employing camouflaged Amazon trucks and fraudulent Amazon packaging.
Where does all this cannabis end up? Primarily, black market dealers, especially on the east coast, sell it despite recreational cannabis being legal in some states. The profits then are returned to China.
Law enforcement is diligently working to eradicate these black market farms. Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma reports that since 2021, the state has wiped out approximately 6,000 pseudo-cannabis houses, with 80 percent of them linked to China. Despite these efforts, they are calling for more assistance from federal drug enforcement, with Governor Stitt urging President Joe Biden to secure the border to help tackle this problem.
In a startling development, a Chinese ringleader received a life sentence earlier this year after confessing to shooting four individuals at an illegal cannabis operation in Oklahoma. This event seemingly underscores that these operations are far from harmless.
But, it’s not only the southern and western states grappling with this. Maine has also noticed an increase in these cannabis farms, with many residents complaining about the potent marijuana smell emanating from houses near schools and daycares.
Experts estimate that an average home can generate up to $3 million in cannabis annually. Much of these illicit profits either return to China or are used to perpetuate these criminal activities in the U.S.
