A lawsuit filed on behalf of eight licensed New Mexico cannabis companies alleges that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) unlawfully seized state legal cannabis products and cash, violating the companies’ Fifth Amendment rights.
The lawsuit was filed by law firm Greenspoon Marder, which said in a statement that “The federal government is fully aware of the legitimacy and prevalence of state-legal cannabis, and these businesses are paying federal taxes like any other businesses.”
“Yet, despite this recognition, federal agents are unjustly seizing property without any regard for due process. This isn’t a legal gray area – CBP’s newfound policy is a blatant and arbitrary violation of rights and is completely unacceptable in a system that claims to respect state sovereignty and the rule of law.” — Greenspoon Marder’s cannabis team in a statement
Earlier this year CPB reportedly seized more than $300,000 worth of cannabis products from state-licensed operators in New Mexico during routine checkpoints in the state’s southern region. CPB contends that the seizures are legal under federal law because cannabis is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
Gov. Lujan Grisham (D) has expressed concern over the actions of federal law enforcement regarding cannabis in her state, saying in a leaked call to an unnamed high-level federal official – presumed to be Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas – that she was “frustrated” by the seizures.
“Either we have to adjust it, or we have to send you a letter saying you’re persecuting a state,” she said in the call. “You are not using your discretion.”
Greenspoon Marder said that in one instance, an employee of co-plaintiff Royal Cannabis LLC was detained at a checkpoint for transporting state-legal, cannabis-infused beverages and held in a cell while the company’s products and her personal vehicle were seized.
The complaint further contends that not only are the seizures of the plaintiffs’ products, cash, and other property unlawful, but also contradict the federal government’s decision to not prosecute legal state cannabis operations, as established as precedent under the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment for the Department of Justice to not interfere in state-sanctioned cannabis activities.
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