U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a special reminder for stoners just ahead of 4/20: The feds still hate weed.
In a statement sent on April 18, the federal agency reminded reporters that “although medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in some U.S. States and Canada,” it is still “illegal under U.S. federal law, given the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance.”
Aside from the fact that April 20, or 4/20, is the stoner holiday, the reminder might seem out of sorts, considering the federal government has largely been hands off when it comes to weed sold at state-sanctioned dispensaries. But the reminder makes more sense when factoring in recent cannabis seizures by federal agents at internal checkpoints.
As The Paper. previously reported, CBP agents have been confiscating cannabis products from state-legal cannabis businesses traveling through the internal checkpoints surrounding Las Cruces and in a recent case, one employee was detained. Now, state industry leaders are calling on both Congress and President Joe Biden to ease up on local businesses that are licensed by the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division to grow, sell and—transport weed.
But unless there’s such a thing as a 420 miracle, it seems like stocking shelves this weekend will be a tough and risky task.
“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,” the statement reads.