Chinese criminal organizations have infiltrated California’s black-market marijuana industry, smuggling toxic pesticides that authorities warn could cause decades of environmental damage, NewsNation reported Sunday.
The illegal pesticides are killing wildlife and destroying ecosystems across northern California, where Chinese cartels operate large-scale marijuana growing operations using trafficked migrant workers, authorities told NewsNation.
“A lot of the chemicals that are being used are hazardous to humans,” Matt Kendall, Mendocino County Sheriff, stated.
Kendall confirmed authorities have identified a pattern of Chinese cartels controlling these operations and potentially using violence to protect their enterprises, the outlet reported. The criminal organizations allegedly rely on migrant workers trafficked into the United States specifically to cultivate black-market marijuana.
The unlicensed cultivation sites routinely spray banned pesticides on marijuana plants, causing severe ecological damage, NewsNation reported.
“These criminal organizations use such a deadly, potent, toxic chemical because it absolutely keeps everything off their cash crop,” Lt. John Nores Jr. of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: MAHA Sounds Alarm Over Pesticide Manufacturer Immunity)
“It keeps everything off their marijuana plant,” he added.
The reported crisis has spread beyond California’s borders. Authorities in Maine, Oklahoma and New Mexico have reported illegal pesticides at Chinese-controlled marijuana grow sites in their states, the outlet reported. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an investigation into the interstate operation.
Siskiyou County declared a state of emergency in July due to the pesticide contamination, according to a press release. Nores Jr. warned that without increased enforcement, California faces environmental damage that could take decades to reverse, News Nation reported.
Law enforcement officials said the chemicals are so toxic that they kill all vegetation and wildlife in surrounding areas, creating dead zones around illegal grow operations, NewsNation reported.