Are the Chinese really running the illegal weed market in America?

A joint law enforcement task force discovered approximately 9,000 pounds of cannabis, valued at nearly $15 million, in suburban Antioch, California, just days before Christmas. The California Department of Cannabis Control suspected that the four homes raided in the dormitory development, 45 minutes outside of San Francisco, had ties to China.

Illegal marijuana production in the United States has long been linked to Mexican cartels that import, grow, and distribute illegal cannabis. In recent years, however, Chinese investors, owners, and workers have become a new source of funding and labor for illicit marijuana production.

Huge funds from Chinese investors

State law enforcement officials, international drug trafficking experts, economists and lawmakers have revealed that there has been a significant increase in the number of farms receiving funding from sources that can be traced back to Chinese investors or owners. Chinese owners and workers are now more prominent in illegal cultivation in California, Oklahoma and Oregon.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics flagged about 3,000 of the state’s nearly 7,000 licensed marijuana farms for suspicious activity over the past year. According to Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the bureau, these farms are under investigation for allegedly fraudulently obtaining licenses and selling their produce in the illegal market.

According to the agency, about 2,000 farms have ties to China, with the country providing either workers, funding, or both. Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, said that of the more than 800 farms the agency has shut down for illegal operations in the past two years, about 75 percent have ties to China. Woodward added that he’d confidently say we’ve linked over 600 farms to Chinese investors and organized crime, with some connection back to China.

Law enforcement officials in southern Oregon reported that as many as 20 different nationalities were involved in illegal cultivation in the region in 2021. However, increasing Chinese funding and the potential influence of the Chinese Communist Party have raised concerns among lawmakers and law enforcement experts.

Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), a former prosecutor and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told POLITICO that the Chinese Communist Party’s malign influence has been observed recently. Unfortunately, the cannabis industry is not immune to these tactics. Joyce was referring to a Chinese surveillance balloon sighted over Montana in early February. He added, “Do we want to encourage an environment where marijuana cultivation takes place with proper safeguards, or do we continue to ignore the issue and allow illegal operations like this to thrive?”

Not much is known

There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Chinese-funded cannabis cultivation. It’s unclear if the funding comes from groups with ties to the Communist Party, and how much of the cannabis produced by these grows is sold within the US or exported. The extent of the involvement of Chinese organized crime syndicates in American cannabis cultivation is also unknown. Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explained that the Chinese government has a complex relationship with organized crime.

Although the Chinese Communist Party takes a tough stance on drugs, Felbab-Brown said the triads that run global criminal networks that distribute chemicals needed to manufacture methamphetamine and fentanyl often favor the CCP by serving as extra-legal enforcers for act the government. The CCP, in turn, usually allows them to continue their operations but does not control them.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, told POLITICO that the Chinese government has a “zero tolerance” policy on drugs and has been actively fighting drug production, drug trafficking and other drug-related crimes. Liu added that the Chinese government encourages citizens not to engage in illegal or criminal activities abroad.

Experts, including Felbab-Brown, have warned that there is still much unknown about the possible involvement of Chinese triads in cannabis production. “There are various actors in China involved in drug trafficking,” Felbab-Brown said, stressing that the same could apply to drug operations in the US, which could include large-scale organized crime operations and small family businesses. “It is crucial to exercise caution and thoroughly investigate the motives behind these operations,” she added.

A booming illegal cannabis market

Illicit cannabis production in the United States is increasing, with approximately 75 percent of the country’s $100 billion cannabis market remaining illicit. From this illicit market, about two-thirds of the cannabis is grown domestically. Whitney Economics, a cannabis industry analyst, has provided data on this.

The amount of marijuana seized by US Border Patrol at the country’s borders has plummeted from £582,000 in 2020 to £155,000 in 2022. Mandarin-language ads recruit Chinese workers for illegal cultivation in Oklahoma, California, and elsewhere.

Mandarin-language websites and social media apps have been used to recruit Chinese workers to illegally grow cannabis in the United States. In California, Chinese triads have been involved in illicit cannabis production for years, with a recent surge in Chinese funding and actors. Some of the Chinese-funded grows that the Department of Cannabis Control comes across are run by Chinese triads, but not all.

Research by NBC and Searchlight New Mexico in 2022 and 2020, respectively, found Chinese workers from other cities traveling to illegal growing areas in California and New Mexico after seeing Mandarin-language ads.

According to Woodward, similar ads have lured workers to illegal cultivation in Oklahoma. Felbab-Brown commented that the emergence of Chinese funding for illicit cannabis is a recent development that is challenging the interests of Mexican drug cartels. She noted that it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue and how it will affect the relationship between Chinese and Mexican criminal organizations.

Diploma

The issue of Chinese funding of the illicit cannabis industry in the United States has raised concerns among lawmakers, law enforcement officials and experts. While much remains unknown about the extent of Chinese involvement, evidence suggests that Chinese investors and organized crime syndicates are linked to many illegal crops across the country. The situation raises complex questions about drug policy, criminal activity and international relations and is likely to be further investigated in the years to come.

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