{"id":28054,"date":"2024-04-21T17:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T23:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cannabis-seizures-at-checkpoints-by-border-patrol-frustrate-state-authorized-pot-industry\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:19:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:19:36","slug":"cannabis-seizures-at-checkpoints-by-border-patrol-frustrate-state-authorized-pot-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cannabis-seizures-at-checkpoints-by-border-patrol-frustrate-state-authorized-pot-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis seizures at checkpoints by border patrol frustrate state-authorized pot industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Traffic
Traffic crosses from Mexico into the United States at a border station in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, in this photo made in March 14, 2012. The U.S. Border Patrol is asserting its right to seize cannabis shipments \u2013 including state-authorized commercial supplies \u2013 amid complaints of licensed cannabis providers that more than $300,000 worth of marijuana has been confiscated in recent months at Border Patrol highway checkpoints in southern New Mexico. Jeri Clausing\/AP File Photo<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

SANTA FE \u2013 The U.S. Border Patrol is asserting its authority to seize cannabis shipments \u2013 including commercial, state-authorized supplies \u2013 as licensed cannabis providers file complaints that more than $300,000 worth of marijuana has been confiscated in recent months at highway checkpoints in southern New Mexico.<\/p>\n

New Mexico\u2019s Democratic governor says the disruptions prompted a discussion this week with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose impeachment charges were dismissed this week. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she voiced concerns that the scrutiny of cannabis companies appears to be greater in New Mexico than states with regulated markets that aren\u2019t along the U.S. border with Mexico.<\/p>\n

Authorized cannabis sales in New Mexico have exceeded $1 billion since regulation and taxation of the recreational market began two years ago. Yet cannabis transport drivers say they have been detained hours while supplies are seized at permanent Border Patrol checkpoints that filter inbound traffic for unauthorized migrants and illegal narcotics, typically located about 60 miles from the U.S. border.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Mayorkas assured the governor that federal policies with respect to legalized cannabis have not changed,\u201d said Lujan Grisham spokesperson Michael Coleman in an email. \u201cRegardless, the governor and her administration are working on a strategy to protect New Mexico\u2019s cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Managers at 10 cannabis businesses including transporters last week petitioned New Mexico\u2019s congressional delegation to broker free passage of shipments, noting that jobs and investments are at stake, and that several couriers have been sidelined for \u201csecondary inspection\u201d and fingerprinted at Border Patrol checkpoints.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe request that operators who have had product federally seized should be allowed to either get their product returned or be monetarily compensated for the losses they\u2019ve sustained,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said the Department of Homeland Security should be focused on urgent priorities that don\u2019t include cannabis suppliers that comply with state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cStopping the flow of illicit fentanyl into our country should be the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s focus at these checkpoints, not seizing cannabis that\u2019s being transported in compliance with state law,\u201d the senator said in a statement, referring to the parent agency for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. \u201cNew Mexicans are depending on federal law enforcement to do everything they can to keep our communities safe. Our resources should be used to maximize residents\u2019 safety, not distract from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A public statement Thursday from the U.S. Border Patrol sector overseeing New Mexico provided a reminder that cannabis is still a \u201cSchedule 1\u2033 drug, a designation also assigned to heroin and LSD.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in some U.S. States and Canada, the sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana or the facilitation of the aforementioned remain illegal under U.S. federal law,\u201d the agency\u2019s statement said. \u201cConsequently, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Kennicott, an owner of Socorro-based High Maintenance, a cannabis business, said seizures by Border Patrol started in February without warning and create uncertainty about shipments that include samples for consumer-safety testing. He said cannabis producers in southernmost New Mexico rely on testing labs farther north, on the other side of Border Patrol checkpoints, to comply with safeguards against contaminants like mold or pesticides.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a little confusing, it\u2019s a lot confusing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to figure out where this directive came from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

says cannabis is still a \u2018Schedule 1\u2019 drug, like heroin and LSD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[896,28,135,138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-28054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-marijuana","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80289,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28054\/revisions\/80289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28054"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=28054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}