Despite efforts by New Mexico’s governor and lawmakers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continue to single out and harass state licensed cannabis operators. The agency for months has been seizing legal marijuana from businesses at interior checkpoints within the state and destroying it without any recompense. It’s still unclear why only certain checkpoints in New Mexico seem to be taking part in the campaign while those in other states are leaving licensed operators unmolested, and local businesses want answers.
“It seems like it’s a concerted effort, and we’re trying to discover where it’s coming from,” Richard, a manager at Desert Peak Farms, located in Mesilla Park says.
Desert Peak Farms has had products seized by Border Patrol agents at checkpoints twice since May 1, for a combined loss of nearly 75 pounds of product — worth around $55,000 wholesale.
The products were taken at the Border Patrol checkpoint located north of Las Cruces on I-25. Although it’s been widely argued they are unconstitutional, CBP has been given jurisdiction to operate within 100 miles of the U.S. border and has set up permanent interior border checkpoints. There are at least six of these checkpoints located within the state of New Mexico.
Richard says the first incident in May was initiated when drug-sniffing dogs tagged a vehicle belonging to a Desert Peak Farms employee that was transporting product. The agents seized about 23 pounds of products and 350 pre-rolls. They also held the employee for at least three to four hours before releasing him without arrest.
The second incident happened July 8. Border Patrol agents once again stopped the same employee and seized 50 pounds of flower and 1,900 pre-rolls.
Richard says the loss of revenue hurts the company and the seizures are placing undo stress on the business.
This highlights an issue that advocates have been bumping up against for years. It appears the Border Patrol does not consistently follow the same procedures in different parts of the country and there is a lack of cohesive policy between different regions.
According to a 2022 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Border Patrol has not established clear roles and responsibilities for its management office. The agency established a Checkpoint Program Management Office (CPMO) in 2013 to oversee checkpoint operations, but investigators found the agency did not give the CPMO clear roles and responsibilities, resulting in policy and enforcement inconsistencies at various checkpoints. The agency also failed to adequately staff the CPMO and wasn’t properly training new hires.
The report also found that 91% of all drug seizures at interior checkpoints involved U.S. citizens only, which seems to counter the agency’s purported mission to protect the country’s borders and “enhance the nation’s economic prosperity,” as stated on its official website.
Despite the report’s recommendations to increase oversight and ensure consistency in reporting and policy (which were supported by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP), Border Patrol sectors seem to still be operating independently under different orders.
In May, New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) Director Todd Stevens told The Paper. that he spoke to regulators in other border states that have legalized cannabis and found their marijuana businesses aren’t having trouble with checkpoints like the ones in New Mexico.
This points to the possibility that there is some sort of rogue element operating in the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, which oversees the checkpoints in Albuquerque. And, according to Richard, there’s even inconsistencies to be found within the sector. The first time agents confiscated Desert Peak Farms products, the employee reported they were treated rudely. But when Richard went to the checkpoint to find out what was happening, the agents he encountered were apologetic and seemed empathetic to his plight, although they were unable to help him.
“Two of them sat there and chatted with me for 15 or 20 minutes, almost in a conciliatory way. They weren’t mean or cruel or arrogant or obnoxious at all.”
Notably, he says that the agents told him that they were acting on orders from higher up.
“They said, ‘We’ve been instructed to do this, and we got to do it, Richard says.
He questions who is doing the instructing.
“Where’s the decision being made to instruct these border patrol agents to do what they’re doing?” he asks. “Somebody had to tell them to do that, because previously they weren’t doing it. We were just going through those checkpoints, smiling and waving.”
Richard says the company has reached out to the CCD and the governor’s office about the seizures. He says authorities were supportive but unable to do anything, since the CBP is a federal agency with higher authority.
“If the Border Patrol continues stealing product from operators, they will end up driving people back to the unregulated black market,” Matt Kennicott, CEO and co-founder of cannabis industry association The Plug says. “Consumer safety is being ignored by federal agents, which is part of the reason we’ve called on our congressional delegation to help with this problem.”
In June, Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) filed a federal amendment to the fiscal year 2025 DHS appropriations bill that would have prohibited Border Patrol from using federal funds to seize marijuana from state-licensed operators, but the amendment was blocked by the House Rules Committee.
Richard says that Desert Peak Farms isn’t expecting to ever get their lost revenue back.
“Restitution from the federal government? That sounds like a good George Carlin routine,” he says.