[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 117 (Friday, July 15, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H6628-H6629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MEXICAN CARTELS GROWING MARIJUANA IN CALIFORNIA

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, the Biden administration's open border 
policies are wreaking havoc across our Nation, causing crime to spike, 
even in my home district in northern California.
  Hidden under the cover of our magnificent, forested wildlands, 
Mexican

[[Page H6629]]

cartels are using our porous borders as easy access to Federal lands to 
grow illegal marijuana crops.
  Even though cannabis products are legal under California law, truly 
they are still illegal under Federal law. These illegal grows are 
dangerous and cause irreversible harm to the landscape and animals.
  These grows are guarded by dangerous cartel members with illegal 
weapons that they smuggle across the border. This puts local residents, 
foresters, and outdoor recreationists at grave risk if they 
accidentally come across or near a grow.
  Butte County in northern California, my home county, is designated 
now as a Federal high-intensity drug trafficking area. Thanks a lot.
  These illegal farmers use toxic pesticides that are outlawed by the 
U.S. and unavailable to American growers anymore. These chemicals run 
off into nearby water sources, poisoning the animals and killing off 
plant life. They cut off water from other farmers and rivers and cause 
much damage to the environment.
  This drug trafficking must be stopped.

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