(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) On March 21, 2024, top U.S. House lawmakers received a classified briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on the proliferation of illegal marijuana farms that were backed by China all around the United States.
Rep. August Pfluger, R–Texas, who heads up the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who leads the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, and other committee members, received the briefing from the DHS, DEA and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), according to the Daily Wire.
The briefing focused on “the recent trend in illicit marijuana grow operations within the homeland by People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationals,” as well as how federal “entities are working to combat the issue,” a spokesman who shared the information with the Wire said.
Chinese-backed marijuana operations have cropped up across the United States in the last several years. New Mexico and Maine were the states where the major drug busts happened. Border Patrol has reportedly identified at least 270 illegal marijuana grow operations throughout the state of Maine alone that are worth billions of dollars.
In addition to that, a suspected Chinese national was arrested in rural Tennessee back in November 2023 for allegedly operating a large marijuana-growing operation out of an old church.
“The Committee continues to conduct oversight of the federal government’s response to the worrying trend of illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms. Many of these operations work in conjunction with transnational criminal organizations, engage in human trafficking and forced labor practices and pose serious threats to public safety,” the spokesman said.
The briefing comes after House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., Pfluger and Higgins requested a briefing from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
“Illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms have been found across the country and pose significant risks to our nation’s security. In addition, Chinese investors have financed some of these illegal operations, and these investments include cash payment for large swaths of land to conduct these operations,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
