FBI Arrests Chinese Nationals Accused of Running Massive, Illicit Marijuana Scheme

Marijuana
Above: File photo of an illegal marijuana operation authorities raided at an Oakland warehouse in March of 2025. At the time, law enforcement expressed concerns 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.”

The FBI has charged seven Chinese nationals for their alleged roles in a multimillion-dollar marijuana scheme that involved money laundering, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.

Fox News reports,

The scheme allegedly involved interconnected grow houses that cultivated and distributed marijuana. Chinese nationals were also allegedly smuggled into the U.S. for the purpose of working in these houses until they paid off their debts related to being smuggled into the country, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

We have written again and again about how legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and organized crime who profit from marijuana.

Some of these illegal marijuana operations are tied to labor trafficking, violent crime, and foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party.

NPR reports how illegal immigrants from China “are taking jobs at hundreds of cannabis farms springing up across the U.S.” Other correspondents have reported how these illegal marijuana operations contribute to “modern day slavery on American soil.”

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

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.

CBS News has highlighted how Chinese investment is driving illegal marijuana production across the U.S.

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

And 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.”

All of this simply further underscores how 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.

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LA Governor Signs Measure to Protect Kids Online

Decency, , , ,

News outlets report Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has signed the App Store Accountability Act into law. The measure requires online app stores to verify users’ ages, and it prevents minors from downloading apps or making in-app purchases without parental consent.

The law is similar to measures Arkansas has enacted over the years to protect children from harmful content online.

There is mounting evidence that — by design — social media platforms are not appropriate for children.

TikTok has long been under fire for serving kids a steady “diet of darkness” online and struggling to protect private user data from entities in China, such as the Chinese Communist Party. Facebook and Instagram have been accused of using algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time.”

As we have said before, tech companies and social media platforms are more than just websites or phone apps. These are multimillion-dollar businesses. The people who own and profit from these companies have a responsibility to protect their users — especially children.

We appreciate policymakers who take this issue seriously and work hard to enact legislation protecting children on the internet.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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IRS Finally Agrees Churches, Pastors Can Engage in Political Speech

Religious Freedom, , ,

On Monday the IRS filed a motion in federal court acknowledging that churches and ministers are free to address social and political issues from a biblical point of view.

The motion helps bring clarity to the First Amendment freedoms of pastors and churches.

Many people believe state and federal law prevents churches and pastors from addressing “politics,” but churches and ministers actually have always had tremendous leeway to talk about legislation, campaign issues, and even candidates.

Churches and ministers are free to address social and moral issues — even if some people consider those issues “political.”

That means they are free to stand up against abortion, promote biblical marriage, encourage responsible citizenship, support laws that protect children from sex-change procedures, and so forth. Churches can spend an insubstantial amount of money lobbying for or against legislation or ballot issues as well.

Historically, churches have hosted voter registration drives. They have been free to hold candidate forums and educate voters about candidates and elections.

Legal experts generally have agreed the IRS rules — also known as the Johnson Amendment — let ministers support or oppose candidates.

However, on Monday the IRS filed a court motion reinforcing that churches have tremendous leeway when it comes to free speech and religious liberty. The motion says,

When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither “participate[s]” nor “intervene[s]” in a “political campaign,” within the ordinary meaning of those words. . . . Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates. Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted.

The IRS says this is in keeping with its traditional interpretation of federal tax rules governing churches.

Our friends at Liberty Counsel say this means that “if a house of worship endorsed a candidate to its congregants, the agency would view that not as campaigning but as a private matter, like ‘a family discussion concerning candidates.'”

All of this underscores that churches and ministers have tremendous freedom when it comes to talking about morality, social issues, candidates, and political campaigns.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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