Federal action must be taken to stop the Chinese entities behind a burgeoning black market of marijuana across the United States, according to law enforcement and drug experts.
The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability was briefed on the extent to which the Chinese Communist Party is aware of and funding illicit drug operations in the U.S., and lawmakers were implored to take swift action to wipe out the expansive criminal network.
Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Director Donnie Anderson testified on Thursday that the impact of the marijuana black market in Oklahoma and throughout the country has had in recent years was “unlike anything I’ve ever encountered in my career.”
Paul Larkin, a senior legal research fellow in legal and judicial studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, said addressing Chinese-fueled marijuana grows is “a matter not just of public health … it’s a matter of domestic and homeland national security.”
In 2018, Oklahoma voters approved a measure that eradicated limits on medical marijuana grow operations, effectively allowing any resident of at least two years to grow unlimited marijuana in the state.
Foreign entities quickly began offering Oklahoma residents cash to use their name and property to stand up mass marijuana grow operations in greenhouses and inside houses.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, Anderson estimated 87 million plants were grown within the state’s borders. However, Oklahoma dispensaries reported selling roughly 2% of that amount.
“Over 85 million plants are unaccounted for, representing an estimated $153 billion in missing product,” Anderson said, adding that it was shipped across the country and sold on the black market, undercutting legitimate businesses.
The loosening of marijuana grow policies, such as in Oklahoma, have also occurred in states like California and Maine, fueling similar grow operations across the country.
The problem is not limited to drug cultivation and sales. The Chinese organized crime rings and money launderers who facilitate the entire operation coast to coast are responsible for bringing workers in from abroad to staff the grow sites, according to lawmakers.
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“In 2024 alone, there were nearly 79,000 Chinese [nationals] encountered at the border. This is up from an average of only 1,500 a year over the previous decade,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said during the hearing. “The majority of Chinese illegally entering the U.S. are single, military-aged men.”
Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK), who presided over the hearing, said workers outside the U.S. are promised good jobs and brought into the country only to be lured into forced labor.
