{"id":74704,"date":"2024-04-26T13:12:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T21:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/26\/new-mexico-governor-offended-by-top-biden-officials-reaction-to-marijuana-business-seizure-concerns-leaked-audio-shows\/"},"modified":"2024-04-27T00:45:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T08:45:15","slug":"new-mexico-governor-offended-by-top-biden-officials-reaction-to-marijuana-business-seizure-concerns-leaked-audio-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/26\/new-mexico-governor-offended-by-top-biden-officials-reaction-to-marijuana-business-seizure-concerns-leaked-audio-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico Governor \u2018Offended\u2019 By Top Biden Official\u2019s Reaction To Marijuana Business Seizure Concerns, Leaked Audio Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The governor of New Mexico can be heard saying on a newly leaked recording that she was \u201coffended\u201d when the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reacted to her concern about a recent surge in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seizures of marijuana from state-licensed businesses<\/a> in her state by saying,\u00a0\u201cWho cares? They make a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) told DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, \u201cWell first of all, it\u2019s patients\u2019 medicine,\u201d she said to an unnamed federal official she was speaking with in the new recording, describing herself as \u201ccranky\u201d with the secretary. \u201cSo I was really offended by that. Shame on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audio, leaked by an account on X called Chaos Coordinator on Thursday, also reveals that the governor notified the Biden administration official that the solution is either adjusting the policy causing the problem or her sending an official letter \u201csaying you\u2019re persecuting the state\u201d and \u201cnot using your discretion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to send that letter, but I\u2019m boxed in,\u201d the governor said, noting that people are \u201caccusing me of being feckless\u201d in the face of the federal actions.<\/p>\n

The conversation took place this week, Lujan Grisham\u2019s office told Marijuana Moment. However, while the X account claimed that the governor was speaking with Mayorkas\u2019s chief of staff, the governor\u2019s office disputed that, saying it was with \u201canother high level administration official in the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor also said on the call that CBP officials are trying to justify the interdictions of marijuana from state-legal businesses at interior checkpoints, primarily around the Las Cruces area, as a necessary consequence of seizing illicit fentanyl. However, as industry stakeholders have pointed out, the spike in cannabis seizures seems to be largely isolated to New Mexico, even though other states like Arizona and California also have legal cannabis operators near the Mexico border.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis unauthorized and edited recording of the governor\u2019s private phone call reflects what she has already said publicly\u2014that she is frustrated by federal seizures of licensed cannabis products in New Mexico, particularly those from small producers,\u201d Michael Coleman, communications director for Lujan Grisham, said in a statement. \u201cShe has expressed the same concerns in phone calls with Secretary Mayorkas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s office disclosed to Marijuana Moment last week that Lujan Grisham expressed concern about the Border Patrol seizures. But they didn\u2019t go into detail, simply saying that the top Biden official reiterated that federal cannabis laws haven\u2019t changed, indicating that the seizures will continue.<\/p>\n

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EXCLUSIVE AUDIO pic.twitter.com\/WrRqlc6MQc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chaos Coordinator (@idontexistTore) April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cSecretary Mayorkas assured the governor that federal policies with respect to legalized cannabis have not changed,\u201d the office said at the time. \u201cRegardless, the governor and her administration are working on a strategy to protect New Mexico\u2019s cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new conversation happened in response to recent reporting, including that of Marijuana Moment, about CBP seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana from state-licensed cannabis businesses in New Mexico in recent weeks\u2014detaining 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.<\/p>\n

Marijuana Moment reached out to DHS and CBP for comment on the secretary\u2019s conversation with the governor both last week and in light of the recording on Friday, but representatives have not responded.<\/p>\n

New Mexico marijuana businesses report that the more than a 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\u2019ve generally been able to transport their products to testing facilities and retailers without incident.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough 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,\u201d a CBP spokesperson told Marijuana Moment earlier this month.\u202f\u201dConsequently, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBP \u201cwants 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,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

For now, there\u2019s no clear solution to the New Mexico cannabis industry\u2019s CBP problem\u2014or clear answers about why it\u2019s happening two years after the state\u2019s adult-use market first opened. In the meantime, businesses have been reaching out to members of New Mexico\u2019s congressional delegation for support.<\/p>\n

CBP\u2019s actions against state-legal marijuana business is\u00a0getting pushback in Congress as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Biden-Harris Administration is not doing enough to protect states who are not waiting for the federal government to catch up,\u201d Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese seizures underscore the confusion and harm caused by the growing gap between the federal government and state-legal operations,\u201d the congressman said. \u201cAbsent descheduling, President Biden urgently needs to issue guidance to prevent this type of infringement from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Congress Will Not Pursue Marijuana Banking Reform Through Must-Pass Aviation Bill, Industry Group Says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post New Mexico Governor \u2018Offended\u2019 By Top Biden Official\u2019s Reaction To Marijuana Business Seizure Concerns, Leaked Audio Shows<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: New Mexico Governor \u2018Offended\u2019 By Top Biden Official\u2019s Reaction To Marijuana Business Seizure Concerns, Leaked Audio Shows<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The governor of New Mexico can be heard saying on a newly leaked recording that she was \u201coffended\u201d when the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reacted to her concern about a recent surge in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seizures of marijuana from state-licensed businesses inContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74705,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74704\/revisions\/74705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}