Marijuana Bust Shows Legalization Hasn’t Killed California’s Black Market

Authorities in California recently busted yet another industrial-scale marijuana operation.

Contrary to popular belief, legalization of marijuana has actually emboldened drug cartels. Marijuana is legal in California, but last year the state’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized 154,000 pounds of illegal marijuana intended for sale on the black market.

KTVU reports that last week California Highway Patrol investigators executed a search warrant at an Oakland warehouse, where they found 25,276 illegal marijuana plants along with firearms and illicit pesticides. Authorities reportedly are concerned about possible links to organized crime and indicated that illegal marijuana operations like this one may be tied to “Chinese money-laundering for Mexican cartels.”

Instead of weakening the black market, legalization appears to have made it easier for illicit marijuana to go unnoticed in states like California.

Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in many parts of the country. 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.

Illegal marijuana operations often are linked to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have dubbed “modern day slavery on American soil.”

And CNN reports 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.”

All of this is very concerning in light of the fact that multiple proposals at the Arkansas legislature would weaken the state’s drug laws.

H.B. 1722 by Rep. Jeremiah Moore (R — Clarendon) would effectively repeal Act 629 of 2023. This bad bill would legalize products containing THC made from industrial hemp — that is, cannabis plants that are supposed to be low in THC. THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Many states are looking for ways to restrict or prohibit THC products. This bill would legalize these products in Arkansas.

H.B. 1578 by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would legalize drinks containing THC made from industrial hemp. The bill sets age restrictions, licensing requirements, and manufacturing guidelines for these drinks, but it does not clearly restrict the amount of THC a hemp-derived drink could contain.

Legalizing drugs — whether it’s marijuana itself or THC extracted from cannabis — has not worked as intended in places like California. Arkansas should think twice before making the same mistake these states have made.