Jan. 8—Caleb Mata said federal agents at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Southern New Mexico detained an employee of his Las Cruces-based cannabis company on Wednesday as he transported $100,000 worth of state-authorized marijuana products.
“We just lost $100,000. It’s crippling, and we have no knowledge of it,” Mata, the president of OG Inc., said in an interview late Wednesday afternoon, expressing concern for the company’s driver.
The experience has Mata planning to join a lawsuit eight licensed marijuana operations in New Mexico filed in federal court in October against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection because federal agents have continued to detain their employees and confiscate state-legal marijuana.
In the suit, state-authorized cannabis businesses cite an “ongoing pattern” of seizures by federal agents at highway checkpoints, resulting in the loss of revenue totaling more than $1 million. While New Mexico legalized recreational cannabis in 2022 and established a regulatory framework for licensed operators, marijuana is still illegally federally.
The Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. In an email to The New Mexican last year, a department spokesperson wrote “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.”
According to Mata, an employee of OG Inc. was on his way from Las Cruces to Albuquerque to deliver the cannabis products to locations in Albuquerque, including a “huge drop at Ultra Health,” when the driver was detained at a checkpoint near Truth or Consequences. Ultra Health operates 29 dispensaries as well as massive facilities for growing and processing products.
The driver for OG Inc. told Mata around 9:45 a.m. “the product was being seized, and he was being detained, and that’s all they told him,” Mata said.
The company, which operates in 11 states, has a sizable footprint in New Mexico, selling to about 600 stores, Mata said.
Last year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas border states that have legalized cannabis appear to be facing greater scrutiny by U.S. Customs and Border Protection than nonborder states where marijuana is also legal.
“We just want to shine as much light on this situation as we can because it is truly pretty crazy when you think about it. The feds are really detaining someone unlawfully in direct violation of state law,” Mata said.
“This sets back my numbers, just makes my business look bad, everything,” Mata added.