News outlets report Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in states where marijuana is legal.
NBC’s KNTV reports the City of Antioch, California, is one of the largest concentrations of illegal marijuana grow operations in the state — and authorities say nearly all of them are “run by Chinese organized crime.”
CNN writes that “illegal pot production in Antioch provides a glimpse of a hidden world – one that mirrors a trend playing out not only in California, but in states such as Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico and Maine: groups of people with apparent ties to foreign countries – most notably China – producing weed in colossal volumes.”
Unfortunately, this is a story that states have seen play out time and again: Instead of weakening the black market, legalization of marijuana has actually emboldened drug cartels and made the problem worse.
Earlier this summer, NPR reported how immigrants from China were illegally crossing America’s southern border, saying that “many [of these immigrants] are taking jobs at hundreds of cannabis farms springing up across the U.S.”
A CBS News segment last year highlighted how Chinese investment is driving illegal marijuana production across the U.S.
CBN reported last October that Chinese investors with “suitcases full of cash” are buying U.S. farmland to grow black market marijuana.
And earlier this year U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, appeared on Fox News Business to discuss congressional concerns over illegal marijuana farms and about fentanyl precursors in the U.S. — both with alleged ties to China.
Right now the group Arkansans for Patient Access is working to pass an amendment drastically expanding marijuana in Arkansas.
Under this measure, marijuana users would no longer need to show they suffer from a specific medical condition listed in state law — making it easier to use marijuana recreationally.
The amendment would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and out-of-state residents who come to Arkansas to use marijuana.
The amendment would guarantee marijuana growers and sellers a monopoly over the state’s marijuana industry.
The measure also fails to limit the amount of THC in marijuana products, and it repeals restrictions designed to protect children from marijuana advertising.
All of this would lead to more marijuana in Arkansas. Family Council Action Committee has materials available for volunteers and churches regarding the marijuana amendment:
You can learn more at FamilyCouncilActionCommittee.com.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
