Oklahoma Overrun With Chinese-Operated Marijuana Farms—What to Know

A vast quantity of marijuana grown in the state leaves for the black market. Officials say 85 percent of grow sites have Chinese connections.

Oklahoma National Guardsmen load eradicated marijuana plants during a multi-agency operation targeting illegal cultivation and trafficking in Oklahoma City on Feb. 22, 2022. Courtesy of Oklahoma National Guard

Chinese gangs are taking advantage of loose marijuana rules in Oklahoma to grow and transport marijuana to other states for sale on the black market, authorities say.

Oklahoma narcotics officials told Congress that a total amount of marijuana worth $153 billion is unaccounted for and likely leaving the state for the black market in other states.

As many as 85 percent of licensed grow sites have connections with Chinese owners or operators, according to Mark Woodward, information officer with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

Since 2022, the state has shut down more than 6,000 illegal growing operations. Most U.S. states have made marijuana legally available, but taxes and regulations have pushed up its price, leaving an opening for black market sales.

Donnie Anderson, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, said at a press conference in March 2025 that his department was conducting raids on illegal marijuana operations every day.

Here’s what we know about the ongoing crisis.

Black Market Operations Flourish

Oklahoma approved medical marijuana in 2018, licensing its cultivation and sale within the state. The state then reported an explosive growth of growers as the law established no cap on the number of farms that could be licensed to grow marijuana and no limit on how many marijuana plants each farm could cultivate.

The majority of these sites are run by Chinese nationals, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

By the end of 2022, Oklahoma had 8,400 farms licensed for growing marijuana. The state stopped issuing new licenses in 2022. As of mid-2025, there are fewer than 2,000 licensed farms, which is still more than enough to meet the needs of the 325,000 patients licensed to use marijuana for medical purposes.

As the state has increased the reporting required of the licensed growers, it has come to light that an enormous amount of marijuana is not accounted for.

Between March 2024 and March 2025, medical marijuana dispensaries sold 1.7 million pounds of marijuana in Oklahoma, according to Anderson, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. But farms licensed to grow marijuana reported growing 87 million plants of marijuana, with a typical yield of 1 pound per plant.

Anderson told Congress on Sept. 18, 2025, that the marijuana produced by 85 million plants is unaccounted for. That amount is worth about $153 billion, according to state estimates. It is unknown where all the unaccounted product went.

Locals Recruited as Straw Owners

The Oklahoma law, passed in 2018, prohibits marijuana grown in the state from being transported to other states.

Enforcing that law is a challenge. Oklahoma is at the intersection of North-South and East-West interstate highways. In addition, to obtain a license, growers must have two years of residency in the state. Anderson told Congress that some out-of-state operators paid local “straw owners” to fraudulently obtain Oklahoma licenses.

These operations are growing marijuana in Oklahoma and transporting the drug to other states for sale. And in one case, one Oklahoma man was registered as owning 300 farms, Anderson said.

The vast majority of these grow sites have a Chinese connection. According to Woodward, currently there are 1,995 active farms in the state, and 85 percent are Chinese-operated or owned.

Several recent convictions of Chinese operators in Oklahoma show the connection between Oklahoma marijuana cultivation and East Coast Chinese criminal organizations.

One case from December 2024 involved Jeff Weng and Tong Lin, who were convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Weng operated out of New York City, while Tong Lin oversaw the grow operation in Wetumka, Oklahoma. According to witness testimony, they transported more than 56,000 pounds of marijuana out of Oklahoma over seven months.

Rising Crime and China Connection

Along with Chinese gangs operating in the state has come an increase in money laundering, illegal gambling, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and theft of water and electricity, according to authorities.

Anderson testified to Congress about the rise in crime, specifically the murder of four Chinese nationals in 2022 at an illegal marijuana farm. More murders took place in 2024 and 2025 at marijuana grow sites.

Local officials are concerned about not only the harm to communities, but also the involvement of an unfriendly foreign power. In his testimony in Congress, Anderson highlighted the threat to national security, noting that many grow sites are located near critical infrastructure, including military bases such as the McAlester ammunition facility, which serves as a national stockpile.

In its investigations, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics has documented transfers to the Bank of China and connections to Chinese regime-owned businesses.

Anderson said the state can’t solve this problem by arresting bad actors and that he is looking for state and federal officials to take action.

Currently, Oklahoma has 325,000 patients with a medical need for marijuana. Anderson is calling for the state to right-size the production of marijuana to match the need.