Marijuana cultivation in American residential areas… “Half of Americans have experienced it, 17% are currently smoking”
◀ Anchor ▶
The United States is one of the countries that is tolerant of marijuana, or cannabis.
Smoking marijuana is already legal in about half of the states, and presidential candidates have each expressed support for legalization at the federal level or decriminalization of small-scale possession.
There are also many side effects, such as large-scale illegal cultivation facilities being built in residential areas.
This is Kim Jae-yong, Washington correspondent.
◀ Report ▶
A police drug squad raids a residential area in suburban California.
Inside the home, which is worth around $1 million, marijuana is being grown.
Footage released by CNN’s investigative reporting team shows the building with its windows blocked off and equipped with a generator, lights and ventilation.
In this town alone, more than 50 cases have already been detected, but police are concerned that cracking down on them like this will make it difficult to eradicate them because they are only minor crimes.
[케빈 맥키너니/단속 지휘관]
“It’s relatively low risk, high reward. In California, it’s a misdemeanor.”
Most of the houses seized were found to be owned or occupied by Chinese nationals, leading authorities to suspect links to criminal organizations.
[크리스토퍼 레이/FBI 국장]
“As we continued to crack down, we began to discover links between Chinese nationals and organized crime.”
[수잔 콜린스/메인주 상원 의원]
“I believe that this poses not only a public health risk, but also a serious national security threat.”
However, when the CNN team revisited the house two months later, it had been completely repaired and put up for sale at a price of $200,000.
The person who put the item up for sale was a Chinese broker.
The broker owned a home that was seized with marijuana last year, but his attorney insists he had no involvement with the law.
Nearby residents are anxious.
[빌 틸슨(인근 주민)]
“Now they will not only resell their homes, they will also make money from their homes.”
In the United States, marijuana is legal for smoking as well as medical use, with nearly half of the states (24 states) having over 5,000 legal dispensaries.
According to Gallup, half of Americans have tried it and 17% still smoke.
This is because it has become legalized due to the difficulty of cracking down on it, and because each state cannot avoid the realistic temptation of earning hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue every year.
The U.S. government has been waging a war on drugs for decades.
However, with even the presidential candidates declaring their support for legalization at the federal level and exemption from punishment for possession of small amounts, it appears that concerns over marijuana will not subside easily.
This is Kim Jae-yong from MBC News in Washington.
Video coverage: Taehyo Kim (Washington) / Video editing: Gwansun Kim
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