What is happening in the woods of the southern Oregon represents one of the most confounding paradoxes of the legalized marijuana movement: States with some of the largest legal markets are also dealing with rampant illegal production
The first unlicensed cannabis grow popped up near Gary Longnecker’s remote Southern Oregon home seven years ago. Now there are six farms surrounding the densely-forested property.
Trash and toilet paper are littered around the thin wire fence that separates his forested land from each cannabis farm. As Longnecker gave me a tour of his property, a few people could be seen moving around on the property through the scattered pine trees and partially-deconstructed hoop houses. Longnecker’s partner called out to them in broken Spanish, since she believed most of the workers were Hispanic. No one answered.Aerial shots of Gary Longnecker's property.
Law enforcement around Oregon has seized tens of thousands of marijuana plants from unlicensed cannabis farms over the past two years. Chen Shu-Momg and Qike Wen were arrested as a result of the raid on The Red Mountain Golf Course in June 2021. The two men arrested at the bust, Qike Wen and Chen Shu-Momg, were released on bail and there is not a court date listed.
One of the underlying promises for legalizing cannabis was that legalization would make the illegal drug trade, with all its attendant problems of violent crime and money laundering, disappear. But 25 years into the legalization movement, as 36 states have adopted some form of legalized marijuana, the black market is booming across the country.
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