Illegal marijuana operations continue to plague states like New York despite laws letting people grow and use marijuana.
Presumably, many marijuana growers and users simply don’t want to comply with the requirements found in their states’ laws.
WGRZ-TV News out of New York recently reported that authorities in New York are cracking down on illegal marijuana dispensaries, but nobody actually knows how many there may be in the state.
Across the board, media outlets have repeatedly reported that legalization of marijuana has fueled black market operations rather than reducing them — emboldening drug cartels that operate industrial scale marijuana cultivation sites.
Some of these marijuana operations are tied to labor trafficking and violent crime. A recent report by Fox Business highlighted national security concerns that some of these illegal marijuana farms may actually have have connections to foreign interests like the Chinese Communist Party.
These reports come as a proposed marijuana amendment is vying for the 2024 ballot in Arkansas — raising serious questions about what could happen in Arkansas if the state goes the same route as California, New York, Oregon, and others.
You can watch WGRZ-TV News coverage of the situation in New York below.
