News outlets report New York authorities continue to raid businesses selling illicit marijuana products.
Nationwide, many states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and the Trump Administration has moved to ease federal restrictions on the drug. But while policymakers push for more marijuana, law enforcement in these states continue to battle marijuana grown or sold illegally on the black market.
A Bronx smoke shop was recently raided for the third time in two year. Authorities reportedly say the illegal marijuana operation did not have a license and “was located too close to a school, place of worship, or youth facility.”
California has seized more than $1.2 billion in illegal cannabis since 2022. In Maine, authorities have said there are hundreds of illegal growing operations connected to Chinese organized crime groups. Oklahoma’s lax marijuana laws have created similar issues, with law enforcement alleging that 40% of America’s black market marijuana has come from legal grow sites in Oklahoma. And Arkansas State Police routinely confiscate marijuana from these states.
Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have dubbed “modern day slavery on American soil.”
Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in many states. The U.S. Department of Justice says Chinese drug cartels may be making millions of dollars from illegal marijuana in states like Maine, New York, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
