… U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than $300,000 of state-licensed cannabis in New Mexico in the last two months. These seizures occurred at border patrol checkpoints, some of which lie as far as 80 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Cannabis growers and producers residing south of the checkpoints are now scrambling to find ways to get their product north. Some have discussed moving their operations north to Albuquerque, the state’s largest city. Others are using tactics to bypass checkpoints that originate in a time when the cannabis world was still entirely off the books. And still others are looking to the skies: considering drone transport for small amounts of product.
In a recent phone conversation with an unnamed senior Biden administration official, Lujan Grisham called Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ response to the crackdown “inappropriate.” In audio of the call, which was recorded by a third party and posted on X, the governor also pushed the official — it’s unclear which branch of the federal government they work for — to take action.
“Either you have to adjust it or I have to send you a letter saying you’re persecuting the states, you are not using your discretion, you’re not working with me on immigration,” said Lujan Grisham, whose office confirmed the authenticity of the recording but would not identify the administration official. “And I don’t want to send that letter, but I’m boxed in.”
A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection acknowledged that some states have legalized marijuana, but told POLITICO that because it remains illegal under federal law, “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.“
Don’t worry fam! Biden got this. In a strongly worded letter that means nothing to anyone.