New Mexico marijuana sector business owners are becoming increasingly concerned about federal officials confiscating their products once they become legal.
Cannabis company owners claim their product is being seized at Border Patrol checkpoints, even after the state’s legalization of cannabis for recreational use for two years.
Top Crop Cannabis Co. owner Matt Chadwick reported that on Wednesday, February 14, he had 22 pounds of cannabis seized at a checkpoint in Alburquerque.
Nick Spoor, the manager of the company’s operations, was held for four hours while the seized goods was valued at $139,000.
“It’s almost like we’re operating in two separate states, the northern and southern portion of the state, and everybody up north doesn’t have any problems with it,” Chadwick stated.Â
Chadwick has joined forces with other New Mexico cannabis companies to advocate for reforms to the legal framework.
“We’re just asking for a sit down to try and work with us and find a solution that allows us to operate efficiently. Maybe it’s a way that we declare our product as we’re going through the checkpoint, and maybe there are some trainings that we can do that show we have these listed drivers. This is what the manifest says. This is how you check for all these products. There’s got to be a solution in a way that, you know, both parties win in this,” according to Chadwick.Â
Since cannabis use and sales for recreational purposes are now permitted in New Mexico, the industry has made more than $1 billion in revenue.
Twenty percent of the earnings from cannabis sales is returned to the state and local governments. According to Chadwick, if goods are seized indefinitely, the economic impact will be substantial.
“I believe that with all the companies in the coalition that we work with, there’s over $300,000 worth of product that has been seized up to this point,” Chadwick stated. Â
