How Chinese Marijuana Operations Cropped Up in Small-Town America

CARMEL, Maine—An astronomical electricity bill was the first tipoff that something unusual was going on at a former chicken farm in this town of 3,000 people off Interstate 95.

A Massachusetts-registered construction company had bought the 5.5-acre property in 2021. But instead of construction equipment moving in, a new power pole sprang up. Electricity use jumped to nearly $7,000 in December 2022 from $600 a month a year earlier.