The biggest weed story this year was the tug-of-war happening between state-licensed marijuana businesses and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over interior checkpoint seizures.
Border Patrol agents have seized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of legal marijuana products, cash and even worker vehicles from licensed businesses at checkpoints inside the New Mexico border since the beginning of the year. Products are neither returned nor accounted for, raising concerns about misuse or destruction of property. There have also been reports of cannabis workers being detained under harsh conditions. Workers have also reportedly been placed on international drug trafficker lists, despite no charges or prosecutions being pursued.
Despite talks between Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Department of Homeland Security — which oversees Border Patrol — and efforts made by the state’s congressional delegation, it seems that no solution was ever reached, and seizures continue to this day…