It’s a billion-dollar industry, illegal and controlled by Chinese mafia networks in quiet rural and suburban neighborhoods across America. If that weren’t concerning enough, it also involves drugs, money laundering, illegal immigration, slave labor, and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) extensive influence in the American heartland. It includes illegal marijuana cultivation in states where the drug has been legalized, and a major FBI bust of a grow house network in New England has shocked the nation with details of the massive scale of marijuana production used to generate profits routed back to China.
On July 8, seven Chinese nationals were indicted for conspiracy to produce and distribute illegal marijuana through a network of grow houses in Massachusetts and Maine. They were also charged with money laundering and smuggling illegal aliens for cheap labor at the grow operations. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley described the network as a “sprawling criminal enterprise that exploited our immigration system,” built “a multi-million-dollar black market operation off the backs of an illegal workforce,” and turned “quiet homes across the Northeast into hubs for a criminal enterprise.”
This bust was part of Operation Take Back America, President Donald J. Trump’s multi-agency effort to dismantle cartels and transnational crime groups, disrupt drug and human trafficking, and end illegal immigration. However, networks like the one busted in the Northeast began forming from 2012 onward, when many states started legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
Besides Massachusetts and Maine, Chinese grow house networks operate in California, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Washington. They are especially active in states where land is cheap and plentiful: in Oklahoma, for example, ProPublica reports that regulators say the illegal marijuana business ranks only behind the oil and gas industry, which in 2023 contributed $21 billion to the state’s GDP.
Donnie Anderson, director of Oklahoma’s Bureau of Narcotics, confidently describes it as a billion-dollar industry. Most estimates of illegal marijuana sales across different states reach into the billions of dollars, and a 2021 Forbes report cited experts estimating total illicit cannabis sales in America at $100 billion annually, a figure that has likely been exceeded.
Anderson also examines the links between these cartels and the Chinese government. News On 6 quotes him saying: “They are very much aware of what’s going on in the U.S. with Chinese nationals. There are people in Oklahoma who have direct ties to the Chinese government. I know people don’t like to hear that, but it’s a fact, and our people need to know that. This is a communist country. I’m telling you, they have a stranglehold on us, they know what’s going on, and we’re letting it happen.” He states that intelligence indicates these criminals may also be involved in acts of terror, espionage, and sex trafficking of children.
The advantage these cartels have in states where marijuana is legal is the low risk involved. If a grow house gets raided by police, criminals can claim in court that they are applying for licenses for legal cultivation. Many states have adopted “restorative justice and harm reduction policies” that are gentle on both drug users and dealers. They are often arrested, fined $2,000, and then released. Frequently, they relocate and start over. Properties have ghost owners, regulations are ignored, cheap labor is smuggled in from China and forced to work under harsh conditions.
New England, especially Massachusetts and Maine, has experienced a rise in illegal marijuana cultivation by Chinese gangs since legalization in 2016. Maine has begun to overlook these illegal growers. The state’s director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, John Hudak, has even acknowledged that his agency has issued licenses to people suspected of ties to foreign criminal gangs, but his hands are tied. Besides grow houses, the cartels are involved in money laundering and prostitution. Democrat governments and legislatures in these states have tolerated their operations.
Grow houses vary by region. In New England, gangs often choose single-family homes in suburbs and upgrade rooms with drip irrigation, lighting, and heating to cultivate marijuana. In states like New Mexico and Oklahoma, where land is abundant and neighbors are miles away, large greenhouse complexes are built on ranch-sized property. The frames and equipment, including fans for cooling plants in the warmer southern states, are often shipped from China. The grow houses steal electricity to cut costs and avoid sudden bill increases that might attract authorities.
California, which produces 40% of the nation’s marijuana and is renowned for its weed as much as for almonds and wines, functions as a hub for high-yield grow houses. The Antioch area has gained a reputation for indoor cultivation, often in houses located in unsuspecting neighborhoods. In Oklahoma, Chinese investors have paid up to four times the market rate to purchase hundreds of acres of farmland for large-scale marijuana cultivation in barns, sheds, and greenhouses. These properties are easy to spot because they typically have fencing, guard dogs, and air conditioning in barn-like structures. At one point, authorities were raiding and shutting down about 15 such operations every day. Fake Amazon vans and parcels are frequently used to smuggle the illegal product.
Grow houses have also been found using banned pesticides and fungicides that are highly toxic to humans, animals, and the environment. Some of these substances are even banned in China. Yet, investigators determined they were smuggled in from there: initially brought to California and then distributed to grow houses in Oregon, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York. After harvest, the remnants of the contaminated crops are dumped or buried around these properties. Agents have reported symptoms such as burning eyes, bloody noses, skin irritation, headaches, and dizziness during inspections of grow houses. In one California case, a specialized WMD detection team from the National Guard was brought in to analyze samples from a grow site. They found ten highly toxic chemicals, one with a half-life of 14 years.
Officially, China has a strict no-tolerance policy on drugs. However, criminal organizations maintain connections with the CCP and its officials, engaging in covert activities such as espionage, money laundering, investments, and generating billions in profits.
Meanwhile, they undermine the culture and corrupt the youth of China’s biggest rival. It would be naive to think these cartels aren’t part of the “unrestricted warfare” strategy to defeat America without direct conflict, using economic, technological, political, and biological/chemical means. In previous columns (linked here, here, and here), this writer has warned about how the strategy of winning without fighting is carried out.
The Trump administration is taking firm steps to defend American culture and freedoms. Its America First Investment Policy recognizes that Chinese investors—and, through them, the CCP—are targeting our farmland, natural resources, infrastructure, and technology. It has tightened rules to limit foreign investments from opponents like China and prevent their access to vital sectors and sensitive technologies. It recently announced the National Farm Security Action Plan, which states that Chinese own over 265,000 acres of American farmland and aims to stop them from buying more.
States are also passing laws to stop Chinese nationals and entities from buying farmland. In 2023, Florida banned the purchase of “real property and strategic assets” within the state. Last year, South Dakota enacted legislation to prevent China and five other countries from buying farmland. Hawaii, Illinois, and Iowa have similar bills in progress.
As Chinese grow house exposés show, we are confronting an enemy that insidiously sneaks in, spreads, and tries to destroy us from within. We cannot let that happen, and we are fortunate to have chosen a president who will stop it.
Image from Grok.