Law New Mexico

[Baron23]

Rule change doubles number of cannabis plants for growers​

An emergency state-level rule change doubled the number of cannabis plants that licensed growers can cultivate at one time, but some in the industry are concerned that the change is too little, too late to meet demand for the start of recreational sales in April.
“Building the infrastructure to double plant count could take months to years for most operators, and plants put in the ground today won’t be ready in April,” said Ben Lewinger, executive director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, in a prepared statement.

The emergency rule change, which went into place last week, increases the maximum number of mature cannabis plants that licensed growers can grow at one time from 10,000 to 20,000.

In a record of finding to adopt the emergency rule change, Cannabis Control Division director Kristen Thomson wrote that the change is necessary to ensure patients enrolled in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program don’t face shortages due to demand from the recreational market, while keeping the state on track to begin recreational sales on April 1.

“The supply of medical cannabis will become increasingly threatened without an adequate supply of plants,” Thomson wrote.

Duke Rodriguez, president and CEO of Ultra Health, the state’s largest cannabis producer, called the change “great news,” but said it likely wouldn’t significantly change the amount of cannabis that will be available in April. He said it typically takes around 5½ months to get a cannabis plant in the ground and ready for harvest, so additional plants wouldn’t be ready for harvest by April.

“We’re probably not going to receive any relief in the remaining 74 days to April 1,” Rodriguez said.

Ultra Health has been aggressive in the past in seeking higher plant counts, filing multiple court challenges against state agencies and requesting emergency rule changes in the past to increase the number of plants available to license-holders. Rodriguez told the Journal that he would like to see the state abolish plant counts altogether and take a market-based approach.


On the other hand, Lewinger said increasing plant counts now undermines work from industry advocates and lawmakers last year to keep the industry from being dominated by a small handful of large-scale producers.

“Increasing the plant count now will only help the very biggest and well-resourced producers – it won’t help medical cannabis patients and it won’t help new businesses trying to break into the industry,” Lewinger said.

The record of finding states that the new rule is slated to expire on July 12.

 

[Baron23]

Proposed changes to New Mexico cannabis rules before start of recreational sales spark criticism​

With less than a month and a half to go before sales of recreational marijuana are scheduled to begin in New Mexico, the state agency charged with standing up the burgeoning industry is proposing new regulations and tweaks to others.
The proposed changes to existing rules just before the start of retail sales sparked some criticism of the Cannabis Control Division during a public hearing Tuesday.
“There’s constant moving targets in this program, and we have not even begun,” said Erica Rowland, who is working to open a “cannabis country club” in Albuquerque’s North Valley.
“How is one to focus on requirements and plan to succeed when costly and timely paperwork requirements are constantly changing or being eliminated?”
Heather Brewer, a division spokeswoman, said the agency set out to “get everything right” but noted it had to start up a new industry in the state in a little over eight months.
“We’re not living in a perfect world,” she said. “There are changes that need to be made. There are things that, as we get further into the process and hear feedback [from various stakeholders], we realize we have to change.”
Among the proposed amendments is eliminating a requirement for businesses to submit a diagram of their work premises in their license applications, largely over concerns the blueprint would be a public record that could be used for nefarious purposes.
“As people were submitting their applications, that’s when the issue was brought about by the legacy producers,” said Jason Barker, a cannabis policy expert.
“They said, ‘Hey, you’re having us submit a diagram in the form of a public record that is nothing more than a blueprint on how to break into our business if someone gets ahold of it who shouldn’t.’ Obviously, with crime in the state, that’s really concerning.”
Brewer said public safety was at the heart of the decision.



“Any documentation like that [is subject to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act], so somebody could conceivably get a layout of a business and use that as a way to target them,” she said.
Rowland said she spent about $2,000 to obtain a diagram. The rules now require the cannabis business to certify they will maintain such a document at all times.
“It’s a bummer that they’re playing with the rules when the game hasn’t even started,” she said.

The amendments also call for reports annually — “or as otherwise reasonably requested” — from manufacturers, testing laboratories and retailers.
“Those are a holdovers from requirements from the original Medical Cannabis Program,” Brewer said. “For the sake of consistency, it’s being now applied across the board for adult use, as well.”
During Tuesday’s virtual hearing, which got off to a bumpy start because of internet connectivity issues, a number of speakers asked the agency to consider adding “Level 1 manufacturing” to production licenses to allow for the sale of such items as marijuana joints and cannabis oils.
“For the very basic micro producer license, all you can do is grow cannabis and sell the cannabis flower,” Barker said.
“If a person who got approved for that license decided to sell some pre-rolls and roll up some joints, that would be manufacturing, and [that person] would be breaking the law.”
Baker said the limitation puts micro producers at a disadvantage.
“If all they have is one or two items they can sell in their store, and then the next store is 500 feet away and has
200 items because it’s a big producer, then it’ll make the decision really easy on the consumer,” he said.
Others raised concerns about the division’s lack of responsiveness.
“I’ve called; I’ve written emails,” said a man who identified himself as John Roybal.
“It seems that we can get no timely responses whatsoever. There’s no in-person support. No office. I mean, it’s a couple months away, and we have no way to answer these questions in a timely manner for our clients. I mean, these are million-dollar businesses, and it seems like we’re just being ignored.”
Brewer said the agency, which pleaded with lawmakers for additional funding during the 30-day legislative session that ended last week, has received more than 800 applications for business licenses across all sectors of the industry. She also said the agency has been “very short-staffed” but has generally received positive feedback.
“They understand that there are some hiccups in the process — they’re willing to work with that — but overall, things are going smoothly,” she said.

 

[Baron23]

New Mexico Revoked Licenses of Cannabis Growers and Fined Them $2M for Many Violations​

New Mexico marijuana regulators revoked the licenses of two growing operations in a rural county for numerous violations and have levied a $1M fine against each business.​

One of the businesses, Native American Agricultural Development Co., is connected to a Navajo businessman whose cannabis farming operations in northwestern New Mexico were raided by federal authorities in 2020. The Navajo Department of Justice also sued Dineh Benally, leading to a court order halting those operations.


A group of Chinese immigrant workers sued Benally and his associates, and claimed they were lured to northern New Mexico and forced to work long hours illegally trimming marijuana on the Navajo Nation, where growing the plant is illegal.


In the notice made public by New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division, Native American Agricultural Development was accused of exceeding the state`s plant count limits, of not tracking and tracing its inventory, and for creating unsafe conditions.


An email message seeking comment on the allegations was not immediately returned by Benally. David Jordan, an attorney who represented him in the earlier case, did not return a phone message Tuesday.


The other business to have its license revoked was Bliss Farm, also located in rural Torrance County within miles of Benally`s operation. State officials said the two businesses, east of Albuquerque, are not connected in any way.


The state ordered both to immediately stop all commercial cannabis activity.


“The illicit activity conducted at both of these farms undermines the good work that many cannabis businesses are doing across the state,” Clay Bailey, acting superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, said in a statement. “The excessive amount of illegal cannabis plants and other serious violations demonstrates a blatant disregard for public health and safety, and for the law.”


State regulators cited Bliss Farm for 17 violations. Regulators said evidence of a recent harvest without records entered into the state`s track and trace system led the division to conclude that plants were transferred or sold illicitly.


Adam Oakey, an Albuquerque attorney representing the group of investors that own the operation, told The Associated Press in an interview that the company had hoped the state would have first worked with it to address some of the issues before revoking the license.


“We did our best to get into compliance but we fell below the bar,” he said, adding that he`s afraid the state`s action might discourage others in the industry from coming to New Mexico.


The company already has invested tens of millions of dollars into the operation and will likely have to go to court to reopen the farm, Oakey said.


As for Native American Agricultural Development, regulators said there were about 20,000 mature plants on site, four times more than the number allowed under its license. Inspectors also found another 20,000 immature plants.


The other violations included improper security measures, no chain of custody procedures, and ill-maintained grounds with trash and pests throughout. Compliance officers also saw evidence of a recent harvest but no plants had been entered into the state`s track-and-trace system.


The violations were first reported last fall by Searchlight New Mexico, an independent news organization. At the time, Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch told the nonprofit group that the tribe and the Shiprock area still deserved justice for the harm done previously by the grow operation that had been set up in northwestern New Mexico years earlier.


Federal prosecutors will not comment, but the New Mexico Attorney General`s Office confirmed Tuesday that in general it “continues to investigate, with our federal partners, potential criminal activity within the New Mexico cannabis industry.”

 

[Baron23]

Federal Cannabis Enforcement Intensifies in New Mexico

Federal Crackdown Threatens New Mexico's Cannabis Industry.​

1. Recent federal cannabis enforcement actions in New Mexico highlight the conflict between state laws and federal prohibition.
2. The seizures by CBP disrupt the supply chain, affecting businesses’ ability to operate within state regulations.
3. The need for clear guidelines is critical as New Mexico’s cannabis industry seeks support from both state and federal officials.

Federal officials have recently intensified their enforcement of cannabis prohibitions against state-licensed cannabis businesses in New Mexico, causing confusion and concern among stakeholders in the state’s legal cannabis industry. This crackdown, marked by the seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cannabis products and the detention of industry workers, represents a significant shift from the federal government’s previous stance of non-interference with state-legal cannabis operations. The seizures, conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at interior checkpoints, particularly around the Las Cruces area, disrupt the supply chain for cannabis businesses, particularly affecting those in the southern part of New Mexico. The actions of CBP, which operates within 100 miles of the U.S. border under federal jurisdiction, underscore the ongoing conflict between state cannabis legalization and federal prohibition laws.


Cannabis businesses in New Mexico, which have been legally operating since adult-use sales began in 2022, report that these seizures have only started occurring in the last two months. This sudden enforcement has taken hundreds of pounds of cannabis at checkpoints, severely impacting businesses’ ability to transport their products to testing facilities and retailers throughout the state. The seizures have been characterized by a lack of clear communication from CBP, with some businesses receiving little to no documentation or guidance on how to seek reimbursement for the seized products. This has left many in the industry in a state of uncertainty, unsure of how to comply with federal regulations while operating within the bounds of New Mexico’s state law.


Furthermore, the selective enforcement and unclear policies have led to inconsistencies, such as allowing state-certified medical cannabis patients to keep their personal supplies while seizing products intended for commercial distribution. These actions have prompted concerns among New Mexico’s cannabis businesses and lawmakers, who argue that federal resources would be better allocated to combating more pressing issues, such as the illegal fentanyl trade, rather than targeting state-licensed cannabis operations. The discrepancy between state and federal marijuana laws has put New Mexico’s cannabis industry in a precarious position, with businesses calling for clear guidelines and support from both state and federal officials to resolve the ongoing conflict.


In response to the seizures, stakeholders have reached out to New Mexico’s congressional delegation, seeking intervention and clarity on federal enforcement policies. The actions of CBP not only highlight the legal ambiguities faced by the marijuana industry in states where marijuana is legal but also the need for federal legislation that reconciles these differences. Until such laws are enacted, New Mexico’s cannabis industry remains at risk of federal enforcement actions that could undermine the state’s legal marijuana market, disrupt business operations, and hinder the industry’s growth.

 

[Baron23]

If Grisham has any cajones she'd assign NM State Troopers to escort MJ shipments in the state and bring this to a confrontation.

And this is what the Fed government under Biden is actually doing despite his and Harris' fucking "tweet" on 420. As a note, Mayorkas and hence DHS and Customs and Border Protection work directly for the current administration.

New Mexico Governor Presses Biden Official About Spike In Federal Marijuana Seizures From Licensed Businesses​

The governor of New Mexico spoke with the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week and expressed concern about a recent surge of Border Patrol seizures of marijuana from state-licensed businesses, Marijuana Moment has learned exclusively. But the top Biden official simply reiterated that federal cannabis laws haven’t changed, indicating that the seizures will continue.

The office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) shared details about the conversation with Marijuana Moment, adding that her administration is “working on a strategy to protect New Mexico’s cannabis industry” from adverse federal enforcement actions.

The governor spoke with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday and “expressed her concern about the federal seizure of cannabis from licensed distributors in New Mexico,” Michael Coleman, the governor’s communications director, said.

“During the conversation, the governor noted that industry operators in border states where cannabis is legal appear to be at greater risk of scrutiny and arrest by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents than those in non-border states that have legalized cannabis,” he said.

“Secretary Mayorkas assured the governor that federal policies with respect to legalized cannabis have not changed,” he said. “Regardless, the governor and her administration are working on a strategy to protect New Mexico’s cannabis industry.”

The conversation happened in response to recent reporting, including that of Marijuana Moment, about U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana from state-licensed cannabis businesses in New Mexico in recent weeks—detaining industry workers in what appears to be a localized escalation of national prohibition enforcement even as the federal government has largely refrained from interfering with the implementation of state legalization laws in recent years.

Marijuana Moment reached out to DHS and CBP for comment on the secretary’s conversation with the governor, but representatives did not respond by the time of publication.

New Mexico marijuana businesses report that the more than dozen CBP seizures, particularly at interior checkpoints around the Las Cruces area, are a relatively new phenomenon. Since adult-use marijuana sales launched in the state in 2022, the operators say they’ve generally been able to transport their products to testing facilities and retailers without incident.

Starting around two months ago, however, the agency has evidently taken a more proactive approach to enforcing federal prohibition, taking hundreds of pounds of cannabis at the checkpoints inside the state. CBP is able to carry out its activities within 100 miles of the U.S. border.

“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 told Marijuana Moment last week. ”Consequently, 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.”

CBP “wants to remind the public that while traveling through any U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint, to include New Mexico, being in possession of marijuana is illegal under federal law,” they said.

It’s unclear how widespread the cannabis industry seizure trend is, but stakeholders say they haven’t heard similar stories out of states like Arizona and California, which also have regulated marijuana businesses operating near the U.S.-Mexico border.

For now, there’s no clear solution to the New Mexico cannabis industry’s CBP problem—or clear answers about why it’s happening two years after the state’s adult-use market first opened. In the meantime, businesses have been reaching out to members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation for support.

“Federal law does supersede state law. Unfortunately, as regulators, we don’t have much authority over this… Again we are just trying to collect enough data to make sure we get accurate facts to the governor and her team to make the best decision possible,” New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) Director Todd Stevens told

KRQE.

“This is a concern for the Division and the cannabis industry in New Mexico,” Andrea Brown, spokesperson for the CCD, told

CRB Monitor. “We are working to collect as much information as we can related to this issue and hope to work with authorities at the federal level towards a proper resolution.”

CBP’s actions against state-legal marijuana business is getting pushback in Congress as well.

“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), founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment last week.

“These seizures underscore the confusion and harm caused by the growing gap between the federal government and state-legal operations,” the congressman said. “Absent descheduling, President Biden urgently needs to issue guidance to prevent this type of infringement from happening again.”