New Mexico wants to protect their cannabis

NEW MEXICO
NM wants feds to stop seizing legal cannabis 

What happened: Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) introduced an amendment to prevent US border patrol agents from using federal funds to seize cannabis from state-licensed businesses. 

This amendment, part of the 2025 Fiscal Year appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responds to recent reports of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents confiscating cannabis from legal businesses in New Mexico. 

Back up: CBP's recent seizures of cannabis in New Mexico have intensified since early 2023. Despite legalization in New Mexico in 2022, the federal prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act allows CBP to operate within 100 miles of the US border, causing overlap and leading to these confiscations.

What they’re saying: “The Biden-Harris Administration is not doing enough to protect states who are not waiting for the federal government to catch up,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said.

“Although 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, given the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance,” a CBP spokesperson said to Marijuana Moment.

Why it matters: The amendment aims to protect state-licensed cannabis operations from federal intervention.

New Mexico’s predicament underscores the tension between federal laws and state-legal operations, highlighting the need for comprehensive reform to address these disparities.

Along with Rep. Blumenauer, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has also expressed frustration with CBP’s actions, highlighting the discrepancy between state legalization and federal enforcement. 

The two criticized the Biden administration for not providing adequate protection to states with legal cannabis operations, emphasizing the need for federal guidance to prevent such seizures and to resolve the damage being done as a result of the widening gap between the federal government and states.  

What’s next: This proposal needs approval from the House Rules Committee to be considered for a floor vote.

-CB

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