After a tip from residents, police in Xinhe County, Xinjiang, arrested a villager and uprooted 63 cannabis plants he had grown among cotton behind his home.[1] The Yuqikat Town police station in Lanpa Village received the report on 1 June 2025 that the man, identified only as Ke, might be cultivating cannabis.[1] Officers confirmed the plants contained tetrahydrocannabinol.[1]
On 2 June the town station and the county criminal investigation anti-drug unit arrested Ke at his home and removed all 63 plants before they matured.[1] Ke told investigators that while cleaning in May he had found cannabis seeds left from years earlier and planted them, believing private use in a hidden field would go unnoticed.[1] Police said he had been administratively punished for cannabis use in 2014.[1] He first denied using drugs but a urine test showed use in mid-May, which he then admitted.[1]
Ke’s wife said she had tried to stop the planting and helped police after the arrest; she asked for firm punishment so he would “wake up”.[1] Police said the case remained under investigation.[1] Chinese criminal law treats cultivation of drug plants as illegal regardless of quantity, with harsher penalties when amounts are large; small plantings can draw administrative detention and fines under the public security law.[1]