In the State of Maine, as happens in many other states, including the State of New Mexico in which FGGAM is based, ‘legalizing’ marijuana production, sales and use for medicinal or recreational use can result in unintended consequences.
For example, on April 4, 2024, FGGAM reported about continuing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seizures of marijuana at border checkpoints, despite New Mexico’s legislature deeming the state-regulated manufacture, sales and use of marijuana and related products to be ‘legal’.
Although Maine, New Mexico and many other states may have declared marijuana to be ‘legal’ for medicinal and recreational use, and established regulatory programs, it is illegal under federal law, as marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), 21 USC 812(b)(1)-(5), Schedules of Controlled Substances.
According to the CSA, Schedule I drugs or substances: 1) have a high potential for abuse; 2) have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and 3) lack accepted safety for use of the drug or substance under medical supervision. The CSA’s list of Schedule I-V substances may be reviewed HERE – which continues to list Tetrahydrocannabinols as a Schedule I drug.
In a previous FGGAM article, this writer discussed ongoing efforts to change the federal classification of marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug under the CSA; however, even if marijuana becomes a Schedule III drug: 1) it will remain a controlled substance and all of the state-approved dispensing entities will need to adhere, minimally, to the federal guidelines as it does for other Schedule III drugs; and 2) there is nothing in the CSA allowing for the uncontrolled (recreational) use of marijuana.
It now seems there is a growing consensus nationally that China may be taking advantage of this legal conundrum by establishing illegal and well-hidden or masked marijuana grows in many rural areas of the United States. These operations are being monitored and shut down by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies not only because of the illicit marijuana operations, but because of what may actually be the purpose for these operations – a means to support human trafficking, money laundering and even the potential for espionage against the United States.
NBC News reported yesterday (6/18/2024) about the State of Maine and how it has become a hot spot for illegal marijuana growing with officials suspecting ties to Chinese organized crime. In an exclusive interview, U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) raised concerns about potential national security issues. NBC News’ Jacob Soboroff reports on this matter as part of NBC’s ongoing series, Captives of Cannabis:
According to a November 8, 2023 article by The Maine Wire (“TMW”), a digital media outlet founded in 2011 and providing investigative journalism, daily news coverage, and commentary as a project of the Maine Policy Institute, Chinese marijuana grows have “taken over rural Maine.”
TMW reports that more than 100 properties are part of a sprawling network of Chinese-owned sites operating as unlicensed, illicit cannabis growing operations in rural Maine. An unclassified memorandum of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicated that illicit marijuana grows are operated by Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations, including upon properties in Somerset, Penobscot, Kennebec, Franklin, Androscoggin and Oxford Counties.
TMW’s review of real estate records, physical site inspections, and interviews with hundreds of Mainers identified that the more than 100 Chinese-owned rural properties were purchased using cash by single men and women from out-of-state, primarily Brooklyn and Staten Island, over the past three years, with most of the properties extensively modified to support marijuana growing (e.g., installation of commercial-grade electricity service, consumer-owned utility poles, and multiple heat pumps).
The TMW report may be read in full HERE.
According to an April 21, 2024 news article by The Associated Press (“AP News”) and reported by NBC News, high electricity consumption, cardboard-covered windows and the odor of marijuana drew law enforcement attention to an illicit grow operation off the beaten path in rural Maine.
Execution of a warrant on the rural home in Passadumkeag, Maine, disclosed a hidden marijuana grow operation spearheaded by Xisen Guo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, and resulted in the seizure of nearly 40 pounds of processed marijuana. This is yet another example of what authorities describe as a years-long trend of foreign nationals exploiting state laws ‘legalizing’ the production, sales and use of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use.
The IRS and Department of the Homeland Security, along with the FBI, the DEA and local law enforcement, are working to get to the bottom of the illicit grow operations in Maine, according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
This NBC News article may be read in full HERE.
WGME News 13 (Portland, ME), reported on May 13, 2024 that law enforcement in Maine are using spikes in utilities, especially electricity, to establish probable cause to investigate, search and often arrest persons for illegal marijuana grows. This article contains detailed photography of one such property that had been recently purchased by a Chinese national.
The WGME News 13 report may be read in full HERE.
My brothers and sisters, let’s continue to pray for wisdom in how our federal, state and local governments manage this situation, which is a problem of government’s own creation. Too many persons and governments are emotionally, physically, economically and politically invested in self-serving and free-wheeling marijuana production, sales and use – with national security potentially hanging in the balance.
Let’s never forget that the Answer to all of this is JESUS!
Proverbs 3:5-8 (NKJV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, [a]nd lean not on your own understanding; [i]n all your ways acknowledge Him, [a]nd He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; [f]ear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, [a]nd strength to your bones.”
1 Corinthians 3:18-19 (NKJV)
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness…’”.