- Authorities in Oregon have linked illegal marijuana grows in the state to Mexican drug cartels. Several large illegal grows have been raided in recent years. - Counties in southern Oregon have declared states of emergency due to the strain on local resources from numerous illegal grows. Many grows involve forced labor and unsafe conditions. - Law enforcement believes the large scale of illegal grows is intentional to overwhelm their capacity and distract them from other crimes. Mexican cartels are suspected to be orchestrating large grows through connections in California and Oregon.

1. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 2/13
CARTELS RUNNING ILLEGAL MARIJUANA GROWS
Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal
Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific
h
 Edit Article (https://cannabis.net/mycannabis/c-blog-entry/update/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest)
 Article List (https://cannabis.net/mycannabis/c-blog)

2. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 3/13
Northwest?
Oregon authorities can link Mexican cartels to illicit pot farms in the state.
Posted by:
BostonBakedPete, today at 12:00am
28
Shares
Oregon Authorities Link Illicit Pot Farms to Mexican Cartels
Various connections suggest that many of the illicit farms in Oregon counties can be traced to Mexican cartels. Illegal
cannabis farming operations are being founded by different gangs of American and foreign descent. Many of these
farms have been left alone for a while for investigation purposes, till the law enforcers got this big break.
Illegal Cannabis Operations In Oregon
In the past year alone, at least two cannabis farms have been raided by security agencies in Oregon. The operations of
these illicit operators have gotten bolder with each raid, especially in South Oregon. These illicit grow operations
capitalize on the employment drought in these areas and the covered areas to maximize profits and escape being

3. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 4/13
caught by law enforcement agencies.
Some weeks ago, the governing council of Jackson County declared an emergency over the increasing numbers of illicit
cannabis cultivation operations taking place within its borders. According to the county's officials, the buildup of these
illegal sites has stretched the local law agencies thin. The local resources in these areas have also been strained to their
limits. The officials made this known to Governor Kate Brown through a letter. This letter was also sent to the state
lawmakers for a quick response. It also contained a detailed request for more staff to reduce the workload of the
current staff working to maintain local laws and code compliance efforts in the county. The Jackson Board of
Commissioners also requested more funding to run the agencies.
The recent happenings in Jackson County are enough reasons for the Oregon state government to press down on these
illegal operations. Rick Dyer, the commissioner for Jackson County, expressed his displeasure with the current situation
during a press conference. He said that these unregulated marijuana farming operations in Oregon are responsible for

4. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 5/13
other illegal activities like forced labor, human trafficking, and unsafe working conditions. Most of the workers operating
on these sites are doing so under precarious conditions.
Oregon has legislation that permits cannabis commerce for licensed businesses. It makes no sense for illegal operators
to intimidate and abuse workers just to maximize profits in a state that already permits licensed operations. The
majority of these workers are often minors, unregistered immigrants, or parents of very young children.
Handling These Cartel Activities
The longer the illegal operations are allowed to continue, the worse the human rights situation will become. These
operations are not limited to just Jackson County. Neighboring counties, Klamath and Josephine, have also declared
states of emergency over these activities.
In Klamath County, a 27,000 square foot potato shed was found filled with an illegal cannabis harvest, of which some
had undergone some levels of processing. This incident, which occurred less than a month ago, had to be the biggest
illegal cannabis raid in the county. The Sheriff, Chris Klaber, expressed his shock when he told local reporters that this
was his first time witnessing this amount of contraband in Klamath in his 30 years of being active as an officer in the
country.
Klaber referred to the entire operation as an organized criminal activity that needs to be clipped in the bud. After more
investigations were carried out, the potato shed was connected with two other illicit cannabis sites within the county.
The law enforcement agencies have had to reorient themselves in light of the current security issues plaguing the
country. They now know where they stand in this fight. According to Klaber, though it is hard to comprehend, they are
very much behind.
The region's stance sends a unified message to the executive and legislative governments of the state. The state's
officials will find it hard to ignore a call for help sent by three separate counties.
This way, the government will also be able to "kill three birds with one stone" and develop an efficient solution to rid the
region of these illegal growing operations. It's a regional problem, so a regional solution will clear it off.

5. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 6/13
Local Resources: Bearing The Brunt
The illegal operations going on in the southern region of Oregon are more or less crippling the local resources. The
Oregon State Police Basin Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team looks to be on top of recent investigations.
Sergeant Cliff Barden made the announcement that the cultivation operations have ties with national and international
drug cartels.
Barden also disclosed that the agency believed the cartels were intentionally trying to overwhelm the system with so
much illicit produce. The strategy of these illegal organizations to produce this much illegal cannabis is most likely an
avenue to distract the local law enforcement agencies from other crimes.
The agencies are already unable to keep up with the increased volume of illegal activities within the country.
Ever since the illicit operations got uncontrollable, smaller independent, non-licensed operators have set up shop in a
bid to profit off the ensuing chaos. The bigger cultivation sites receive orders from drug lords within and outside the
country and Mexico.
The region's proximity to the Emerald Triangle in California also feeds the illegal activities. California is another hot spot
for illegal cannabis operations. Binet traced many of the plants in the region to illegal operations in California. These
mid-level operations in California act as a go-between for Oregon illegal cannabis sites and the main drug cartel
operators in Mexico. Most of these operations, in various stages, can be traced to common drug cartels outside the
country.
Last words
Aside from the illegal cultivation operations carried out by cartel-organized farms in the region, law enforcement
agencies have also discovered that at least 70 percent of licensed hemp farms are illegally growing pot. Barden said that
for every registered hemp harvest, there are at least three times that the number of unregistered hemp and cannabis
harvests.

6. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 7/13
The state of emergency and increased personnel, as well as funding, will help slow down these unlicensed activities until
they are completely shut down.
"The main objective, for now, is to show that Oregon's southern region will not be a haven for illegal cannabis cultivation
and processing operations," said Sergeant Barden. Gradually, these organized crime operations will have a very hard
time making a profit in these areas.
ILLEGAL GROWS, READ MORE...
(https://cannabis.net/blog/personal-story/what-is-it-really-like-working-
on-an-illegal-cannabis-grow)
I WORKED ON AN ILLEGAL CANNABIS GROW, HERE IS WHAT IT IS LIKE.. (https://cannabis.net/blog/personal-
story/what-is-it-really-like-working-on-an-illegal-cannabis-grow)
What did you think?
0 0 0 0 0 0

7. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 8/13
Keep reading... click here
(https://cannabis.net/blog)
Leave a Comment:
Submit
What are your thoughts?

8. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 9/13
TECHNOLOGY (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/TECHNOLOGY) RECIPES (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/RECIPES)
MEDICAL (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/MEDICAL) VAPING (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/VAPING)
SEXY (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/SEXY) LOCATIONS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/LOCATIONS)
VOTE (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/VOTE) PERSONAL STORY (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/PERSONAL-STORY)
FUNNY (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/FUNNY) DABS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/DABS)
INTERVIEW (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/INTERVIEW) VIDEOS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/VIDEOS)
B2B (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/B2B) HISTORY (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/HISTORY)
HOW TO (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/HOW-TO) EVENTS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/EVENTS)
STRAINS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/STRAINS) OPINION (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/OPINION)
SMOKE (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/SMOKE) NEWS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/NEWS)
SPORTS (HTTPS://CANNABIS.NET/BLOG/SPORTS)
CATEGORIES
FEATURED

9. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 10/13
(https://cannabis.net/blog/news/can-a-tourist-buy-legal-weed-in-canada-now)
NEWS
Can a Tourist Buy Legal Weed in Canada Now?
Some Canadian companies are gearing up for cannabis tourism by offering cannabis tours. Canna Tours, a startup based in British Columbia, revealed to Market
Watch that they’ve seen a “massive” growth in bookings just within the last week, according to founder Gavin Surerus.

10. 11/16/21, 4:30 PM Are Mexican Cartels Running Illegal Marijuana Grows in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest?
https://cannabis.net/blog/news/are-mexican-cartels-running-illegal-marijuana-grows-in-oregon-and-the-pacific-northwest 11/13
OPINION
Is Cannabis Legalization Really Making Town and City Officials More Corrupt?
This happens when states legalize cannabis and provide no oversight to local politicians. Big cannabis businesses with seed money from Wall Street will always
try to bend the law to their favor. There are several instances mentioned in the aforementioned article.
While legalization may be moving the industry out of the