The cheapest ounce of marijuana at Corey Black’s organic medical dispensaries is $100.

Some of her competitors, meanwhile, have been charging as low as $40. According to Maine cannabis officials, much of that product is coming from grows operated by Chinese criminal groups.

“I get it. The economy is hard and people don’t have a lot of money. And if they can only afford a $40 ounce, then they’re gonna buy the [expletive] stuff,” said Black, the founder of Earth Keeper Cannabis with locations in Wilton and Winthrop. “But now we’re competing with illegal grows and people working with the black market.”

Business owners and state authorities say cheap, low-quality marijuana, some of it believed to be grown using forced labor and with banned chemicals , is becoming increasingly prevalen

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