By Ray Cardello for January 19, 2024, Season 1 / Post 8

As reported here on Bear Pond Conservative Chronicles and other sources like The Maine Wire, the Chinese Cartel has set its sights on rural Maine and is now operating hundreds of illegal pot farms. This assault on Maine began a few years ago when folks with Chinese links from New York and New Jersey started to buy properties in Maine and convert them to pot farms. The harvested product was exported up and down the eastern seaboard from Canada to Florida. These properties were bought with cash and modified with high-power electrical and climate control systems. The windows and doors were covered to hide the new purpose of the buildings, and neighbors were traumatized by the latest “industry” permeating their communities. The state seemed stymied to take action, and calls for help by Maine’s Senators and Congressmen remain unanswered by the Department of Homeland Security and Joe Biden’s Justice Department. Even though the Maine Congressional Delegation is predominantly Democrat (except for Susan Collins), the Biden Administration has ignored the pleas for help.

Local and state enforcement has stepped up, and though there have only been eight farms raided, it is a start with a lot of work still to be done. Plants have been confiscated, and the local operators have been arrested and charged. These people are just the foot soldiers in a much larger operation. This Chinese Cartel has money and power, and with over 200 locations statewide, many more sites need to be shut down before they feel the heat.

The biggest question I see in this story is why Maine. Maine is not alone, as this scenario repeats in rural Midwest and West Coast states. Oklahoma, New Mexico, and California have also been targeted. This multi-billion dollar operation is linked to the Chinese and is another example of China infiltrating our country for nefarious purposes. Whether it is buying agricultural land, land around sensitive military facilities and businesses, or setting up illegal pot operations, the members of this Chinese Cartel are not good neighbors or a positive influence in communities. Their actions are allowed because the Biden Administration is powerless due to their indebtedness to the Chinese government.

Like the other states dealing with this situation, Maine is large and predominantly rural, and it is difficult for strapped law enforcement to cover with their depleted staff. These illegal pot growers have space, privacy, intimidation of your neighbors, and a low chance of being caught and paying for your actions. Though marijuana laws are lax in Maine, unlicensed growers and exporters are not.

Recently, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department led a raid on a property in Cornville, Maine, that led to the discovery of an illegal marijuana growing facility operated by two Asian males and an Asian female who spoke little or no English. Authorities reported it takes about a month to gather information and build a case strong enough to get the approval for a raid. The road is long to eradicate the Chinese Pot problem in Maine, but it must be done. Law enforcement deserves our support, as well as any information about locations you may suspect are being used as growing locations. Step up and say something. Let’s not let up until every one of these sites is closed.