Lawsuit Filed by Eight State-Legal Cannabis Companies Claim Feds Refuse to Return over $1 Million in Confiscated Cannabis
- Multiple cannabis companies in New Mexico have refiled a lawsuit against federal authorities for unlawfully confiscating their products despite compliance with state law.
- The lawsuit targets the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, alleging violations of due process rights and interference with the state's authority.
- The Department of Justice had previously filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing marijuana's Schedule I status under federal law and emphasizing federal supremacy over state legalization.
- The outcome of the case under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is still uncertain.
The lawsuit, originally filed in October, was refiled on February 14 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
The plaintiffs—Mesilla Valley Extracts, Royal Cannabis (Baked Chicken Farm), Super Farm (Smokey Road Farms), Impact Farms, Chadcor Holdings NM (Top Crop Cannabis), Mylars, Rollin Love, and Desert Peaks Farms—allege that federal authorities unlawfully confiscated their products despite their compliance with state law. Though impounded vehicles were returned in October, the government has not relinquished the seized cannabis or currency. The lawsuit targets the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, arguing that federal agencies are violating the companies’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment and infringing on the state’s authority under the Tenth Amendment. It also contends that selective enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act at interior checkpoints disrupts New Mexico’s regulatory framework and intrastate commerce.
In January, before Donald Trump began his second term, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case, asserting that marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under federal law and is therefore subject to forfeiture. The DOJ’s filing emphasized that federal law supersedes state legalization measures.
It remains uncertain how the case will proceed under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.