Black Market Marijuana Still a Problem in California Despite Legalization

Black market marijuana continues to plague California despite legalization.

California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force has seized more than $191 million worth of illicit marijuana across the state this year. Recent news reports show authorities have raided 31 illegal grow sites in one county alone.

In September law enforcement in California seized more than 36,000 illegal marijuana plants in a single drug bust.

Contrary to popular belief, legalization of marijuana has actually emboldened drug cartels and fueled the black market.

News outlets report Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in states where marijuana is legal.

CNN writes that “illegal pot production . . . 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.”

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 year that Chinese investors with “suitcases full of cash” are buying U.S. farmland to grow black market marijuana.

Other correspondents have reported how these illegal marijuana operations contribute to “modern day slavery on American soil.”

Illegal marijuana produced in states like California and Oklahoma appears to be making its way into states like Arkansas.

All of this simply 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.