In a surprise defeat, Maine lawmakers—mostly Democrats—killed a bill that would have put an end to the growing number of massive Chinese pot farms in the rural reaches of the state.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the operations are linked to the Chinese Community Party (CCP) and are being used as a major funding source for large-scale human trafficking and the fentanyl drug trade.
“It is a good day to be a Chinese communist gangster in Maine,” the bill’s main sponsor Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris) told The Epoch Times following the defeat of his bill.
Mr. Andrews said he is concerned the nearly 300 marijuana farms being run by Chinese nationals across rural Maine will nearly triple as a result of the rejection of his proposed legislation by both the state’s House and Senate.
“The legislature failed their constituents by killing this bill. It sends a message to the CCP that Maine will continue to ignore this problem. I expect we'll have over 1000 of these illegal farms in a year’s time,” he said.
The bill was rejected on April 9—first by the Maine Democrat-dominated 151-member House in an 84 to 61 vote and then by the Senate on April 10 in a non-roll call vote.
It would also have established racketeering penalties against organizations like the CCP for using marijuana farms to raise revenues for illegal reasons.
According to the Republican lawmaker, Chinese-run marijuana farms in Maine have yielded about $5 billion in revenues, which he fears is part of a bigger plan to “take down the United States.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among several organizations that opposed the bill, called the legislation racist and unconstitutional.
Over recent months, several Congressional leaders sent letters to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and U.S. Department of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram, demanding an investigation into the CCP-run pot farms in Maine and other U.S. states including Oklahoma and Oregon.
Each of the letters referenced a leaked Homeland Security memo that identifies ties between thousands of marijuana farms in the United States and Asian transnational criminal organizations.
The letter also claims that operators of the marijuana farms are engaging in “human trafficking, sex trafficking, ketamine trafficking, illegal gambling, and international money laundering.”
“Members of Congress have routinely raised their concerns with real estate purchases made by entities domiciled in the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” they said.
In a series of questions specific to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), they asked: “What is the DOJ doing to address illegal growing operations, including illegal growing operations that are run by foreign governments or entities?”
The three Democrats and one Republican—Sen. Susan Collins—also asked: “What action is the DOJ taking to swiftly shut down any illegal marijuana growing operations in the state of Maine?”
And, “What support is the DOJ providing to Maine law enforcement agencies [state, county, and municipal] as they work to identify and arrest those participating in illicit activity related to illegal marijuana growing operations?”
According to Mr. Andrews, the task of raiding the farms had largely been left to local law enforcement, mostly sheriff’s departments who already are taxed with a vast area to cover.
The rejected measures included a December bill entitled “Act to Provide Investigative Authority to the Maine State Police, Sheriffs, and Local Police Regarding Maine’s Recreational Cannabis Laws and Ordinances to Ensure Proper Enforcement.”
An independent review by The Epoch Times of the documents referenced in the article showed that the governor’s brother Paul Mills, a real estate attorney based in Farmington, was listed as the “preparer” of a Feb. 22, 2024, real estate tax declaration for nine acres of land in Penobscot County, Maine—the epicenter of Chinese-run pot farms in Maine.
The document indicated the land was a “gift to her mother” from a Chinese woman in Malden, Massachusetts. The document listed an address in southern China for the buyer.
Mr. Mills did not respond right away to inquiries by The Epoch Times about the transaction.
After defeating the bill, the Maine Legislature approved a bill that prohibited the state from entering into contracts with any companies “owned or operated” by the Chinese government.
“But CCP’s illegal weed is okay!” Mr. Andrews said.