A recent series of raids in California underscores how marijuana’s legalization has failed to stop the black market.
Marijuana has been legalized to varying degrees under different state laws, and the Trump Administration has eased federal restrictions on the drug. But instead of weakening drug cartels or decreasing crime, legalization has created new problems for law enforcement.
In California’s rural Humboldt County, sheriff’s deputies seized more than 6,000 illegal marijuana plants as well as nearly 500 pounds of cannabis shake earlier this month.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said:
“The parcel had previously been licensed through the California Department of Cannabis Control to cultivate cannabis commercially but the license had since been suspended for a number of issues, including not possessing the required County of Humboldt permits to cultivate. During ongoing aerial surveillance efforts, [Marijuana Enforcement Team] deputies determined that this parcel had active cultivation occurring in violation of state law.”
To the east, California’s Shasta County Sheriff’s Office announced on August 11 that its Marijuana Eradication Team recently executed a dozen search warrants that led to more than 3,000 illegal marijuana plants and 459 pounds of processed marijuana.
Farther south, the sheriff’s office in Nevada County, California, announced that same day that it had investigated 21 sites suspected of growing marijuana illegally. Authorities seized nearly 5,000 marijuana plants and 1,800 pounds of processed marijuana as well as illegal pesticides from China.
Contrary to popular belief, marijuana’s legalization in California, Colorado, Oklahoma, and other states has actually emboldened drug cartels.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said organized crime from Mexico and China may be making millions of dollars from marijuana grown in states like Maine.
Law enforcement has alleged that as much as 40% of America’s black market marijuana has come from grow sites in Oklahoma.
Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have called “modern day slavery on American soil.” They also often use illegal pesticides that poison users and harm the environment.
Arkansas sits at the heart of major drug trafficking corridors, and Arkansas State Police routinely intercept marijuana from other states that appears to be intended for the black market. For years, Family Council has lobbied against marijuana’s legalization in Arkansas. Our state already has enough problems from drugs. We don’t need to add any more.
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.
