Drug cartels and human traffickers aren’t the only people dodging border patrol officers these days in southern New Mexico. The state’s cannabis businesses — which operate legally under state law — are also desperately trying to evade border checkpoints.
That’s because U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than $300,000 of state-licensed cannabis in New Mexico in the last two months. These seizures occurred at border patrol checkpoints, some of which lie as far as 80 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.The crackdown has created tension between the Biden administration and Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham — who championed marijuana legalization and touted it as an economic boon for the state. The enforcement actions are occurring as the Justice Department is preparing to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana, which would mark the biggest liberalization of drug policy in more than half a century.
“It doesn’t feel like this really has anything to do with what their role is,” said Ben Lewinger, executive director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. “They’re supposed to detain people entering the country illegally, and then detain narcotics and other dangerous items also entering the country illegally.”
The wave of seizures mark a clear departure from long-standing federal policy, wherein law enforcement officials have largely taken a hands-off approach to enforcement in the 38 states that have legalized medical or recreational cannabis possession in conflict with federal law.
@ContentKoalaRepublican2wks2W
How are they the only state that allows upstart weed companies?
@ShadsPhilDemocrat2wks2W
.... I will be the first one to criticize MLG. She is a bad person, imo, and I believe her actions show a genuine hatred for babies specifically and freedom in general.
That said - she was likely referencing the smaller producers of "medical" marijuana.
"The governor then says New Mexico is the only state that lets "baby producers,"
or upstart cannabis companies
, into the legalized market." [emphasis mine]
New Mexico has no real laws pertaining to surrogacy but neither does a lot of states... so she wouldn't be referring to that she says the "We're the only state that lets in baby producers" and every connotation I can find for "baby producers" is the blackmarket human breeding one...
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
The historical activity of users engaging with this general discussion.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...