New Mexico cannabis regulators are concerned about reports that licensed cannabis businesses have recently had their products seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at checkpoints, and they are trying to get to the bottom of it.
Border patrol agents claim they have been ordered to begin seizing cannabis at checkpoints, according to news reports. The seizures have been occurring for at least two months. The CBP has made at least 13 stops and seizures since February, Ben Lewinger, executive director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, told Marijuana Moment.
The New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department’s Cannabis Control Division, which is responsible for licensing cannabis businesses, is aware of the recent seizures at federal checkpoints.
“This is a concern for the Division and the cannabis industry in New Mexico,” said Andrea Brown, spokesperson for the Cannabis Control Division, in an email to CRB Monitor. “We are working to collect as much information as we can related to this issue and hope to work with authorities at the federal level towards a proper resolution.”
The CBP is allowed to operate within 100 miles of the U.S. border. The drivers were reportedly transporting product from the southern part of New Mexico to stores or labs in the northern part of the state. Until recently, they had no problems.
While the U.S. Department of Justice is legally prohibited from enforcing federal cannabis laws in states with legal programs, the CBP is under the Department of Homeland Security, a completely separate agency.
”Consequently, individuals violating the Controlled Substances Act encountered while crossing the border, arriving at a U.S. port of entry, or at a Border Patrol checkpoint may be deemed inadmissible and/or subject to, seizure, fines, and/or arrest,” a CBP spokesperson told Marijuana Moment.
Arrests and almost no records
Drivers have been arrested and fingerprinted, but are usually released hours later. Some owners said the product seized wasn’t documented.
Dan Pabon, the chief legal officer for Schwazze and a former Colorado legislator, showed Marijuana Moment documentation that listed a vehicle had been seized, but it had actually been released with the drivers. There was no mention of the five pounds of flower and edible products taken.
Rob Duran, a managing partner of Head Space Alchemy, who was following his employee who had samples for testing when he was stopped and arrested at a checkpoint near Las Cruces, told The Paper his business has lost nearly $20,000 in products with this stop and a previous CBP seizure.
He said none of the employees who had been detained were issued citations to appear in court.
“We weren’t given any paperwork,” he told The Paper. “We were not even given anything that reflects that the seizure even occurred. So there’s not even a way for us to even prove that this product was taken by the federal government.”
