Illicit marijuana tied to organized crime continues to plague Oklahoma despite the state’s lax laws.
Nationwide, marijuana’s supporters have claimed legalization would reduce crime by weakening organized crime, and today marijuana is legal to varying degrees in many states. But evidence shows legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels.
In May, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force raided two illegal marijuana grow operations with 48,665 illegal marijuana plants and 1,803 pounds of processed marijuana worth over $3 million.
This month, the task force shut down five illegal marijuana grow operations in one series of raids and seized illegal marijuana at two dispensaries and a convenience store in northeast Oklahoma in another series of raids.
Because of Oklahoma’s lax marijuana laws, with law enforcement has alleged that 40% of America’s black market marijuana has come from legal grow sites in Oklahoma. Arkansas State Police routinely confiscate marijuana from Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is not the only state dealing with this issue.
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, and Massachusetts.
California has seized more than $1.2 billion in illegal cannabis since 2022.
Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have dubbed “modern day slavery on American soil.”
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.
