Cannabis seizures from licensed businesses by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents continue near the U.S. border in New Mexico, and state officials are still wondering why.
“The Cannabis Control Division has received 17 official reports of cannabis seizures by the Border Patrol to date. The most recent such report was of a seizure occurring on July 23, 2024,” said agency spokesperson Andrea Brown in an email. She did not provide details of that incident.
The division, which has already expressed concern over the practice, asks licensees to complete a form on the estimated retail and wholesale value of product taken. Based on those reports, $470,937.40 is the approximate retail value, and $360,000.82 is the wholesale value, Brown said.
News of the seizures from licensed businesses in New Mexico jumped this spring, but they have been apparently happening for at least two years, according to a 2022 news report on the ACLU New Mexico website.
Data show seizure spikes in New Mexico and Arizona
The CBP is allowed to operate within 100 miles of the U.S. border. 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.
The CBP reportedly said anyone stopped at a checkpoint with a controlled substance is subject to seizure, fines and arrest. CBP spokespeople did not respond to an email from CRB Monitor News.
The seizures are happening as couriers from businesses south of a checkpoint, such as in Las Cruces, try to drive north. This enforcement has not been reported to be a problem in other cannabis-legal border states, although data in Arizona show a high number of seizures.
According to CBP data for fiscal year 2024, the El Paso sector, which serves all of New Mexico points of entry as well as parts of Texas, has had 89 marijuana-related seizures. Seizures spiked in March through May, with 14 to 18 seizures a month, and then dropped down to nine in June.
In contrast, the sectors in El Centro and San Diego, Calif., reported a total 53 marijuana seizures. The Yuma sector, which serves a portion of California and Arizona, reported 47. However, the Tucson sector in Arizona reported 170 seizures, with spikes in January, April and May of 23 to 26 seizures a month.
The data do not distinguish whether the seizures were from licensed businesses or suspected illicit cannabis.
Reportedly, the documentation of product seized by agents has not been complete. Brown said the department is not certain what happens to the seized products.
She also said the CCD is not aware of any arrests, “but it has been reported that drivers have been detained for periods of time, up to a few hours, before being released.”
NM governor still ‘awaiting answers’
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reportedly spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the situation. While he assured her federal policy has not changed, she said his “Who cares?” response was “inappropriate.”
Grisham’s communications director, Michael Coleman, told CRB Monitor News in an email:
“The seizure of legal cannabis by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol remains an issue that is plaguing New Mexico’s state authorized cannabis industry. While we recognize that cannabis is still federally illegal, our state passed a law that allows cannabis products grown and manufactured by licensed New Mexico businesses to move about the state as long as they’re following the laws and remaining within state borders.
“The governor, business owners who are disproportionately impacted by this directive, and those who rely on cannabis for medication are still awaiting answers.”
New Mexico has had a medical marijuana program since 2007 and legalized adult use in 2021. As of July 22, it currently has 2,289 active business licenses, according to the CRB Monitor licensing database. Since April 2022, when adult-use sales began, more than $1.2 billion in adult-use and medical cannabis has been sold.
