Almost a decade ago, voters in the state of Oregon approved a resolution that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis. This move made it the first state in the country to do so.
Many believed that the drug’s legalization would reduce problems brought about by marijuana’s illegal manufacture in the state. This has not been the case, however, with the illicit production of the drug increasingly significantly since then. Legislators are now focused on making laws against the illicit growers even stricter, having heard numerous complaints from legal growers as well as law enforcement.
Various regions in the state have seen record amounts of marijuana being seized as police raid one plantation after another. The police believe that foreign criminal gangs from Mexico, China and Russia, among other countries, may be involved in these illegal activities.
The latest data from the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force shows that since the year began, Oregon law enforcement has seized more than 95 metric tons of illegally cultivated cannabis. This figure is a significant increase from the 8 metric tons of illegally grown cannabis that was seized by the task force in 2019.
The outlaw growers usually employ migrant laborers in their indoor and outdoor grows, which are located in drought-stricken areas and often contaminate the environment.
A draft measure to be presented for approval in Oregon’s next legislative session, which is set to begin on Jan. 17, 2023, would increase the maximum fine and prison sentence for the unlawful manufacture of marijuana in the state to $250,000 and 10 years in prison. Currently, the personal possession limit in the state stands at eight ounces of cannabis in a private setting and two ounces in a public area.
The bill also prohibits use of water at locations that aren’t licensed for cannabis cultivation and also holds individuals who cause environmental damage as a result accountable.
With regard to the use of immigrant labor, the draft resolution will make it a crime for illicit cultivation-site managers to threaten to report an individual to a government agency for deportation or arrest, confiscate an immigration document or passport or withhold wages without any legal justification.
The amount of illicit cannabis that police officers manage to seize annually in the state is said to be little, particularly in comparison to the indeterminable tons that are successfully smuggled out of Oregon and sold for high profits.
If this illicit marijuana is drastically reduced, licensed players would be sure of a level playing field and grow their operations quicker using funding from different sources, such as REZYFi Inc. or credit unions working with the industry.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to REZYFi Inc. are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/REZY
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