ALBUQUERQUE N.M. – Police and regulators are seeking more control over the new cannabis industry in the state. They told lawmakers on Friday that many people follow the rules but those who don’t are difficult to hold accountable.
New Mexico’s marijuana market generates millions of dollars in private and public revenue. Linda Trujillo is the superintendent of New Mexico’s Regulation and Licensing Department. She said, “We recorded our highest month in August when we had over $44million dollars in sales.”
State officials are concerned that regulatory gaps in the laws that legalized this plant continue to cause problems. There’s much less enforcement on the criminal side. “There’s a much smaller statutory authority on the criminal side,” said W. Troy Weisler, Chief of the New Mexico State Police.
In a Friday legislative meeting, state administrators requested that lawmakers clarify the Cannabis Regulation Act in regards to who and how they are allowed to seize or destroy illegal cannabis.
What would we do if we found a facility with over 30,000 plants, but we didn’t have the authority number one to confiscate it? Right? Trujillo added, “There’s lots of things we can discuss in relation to that.”
State police continue to find large quantities of cannabis on highways entering or passing through the state – around 10,000 pounds since 2022 began – but Chief Weisler claims that larger seizures of marijuana show a discrepancy between the law.
“For now, I’m going to be penalized the same as if my truck had 4,000 pounds worth of marijuana.”
Both would be considered a fourth degree felony.
Before the Cannabis Regulation Act was passed, distribution of marijuana was considered a greater crime than possession. The cannabis regulation act reverses this. “Possessing more than eight ounces of cannabis is a fourth degree felony. Distribution in any amount is a misdemeanor,” James Grayson said, chief deputy attorney for the New Mexico Office Attorney General.
Leaders in criminal justice said that trafficking or distributing cannabis should also be considered a crime. They asked for it to be made a specific offense if it is given to minors. Weisler stated, “I believe we are out of touch on this issue because we penalize juveniles for trafficking cannabis even less than we penalize them for providing alcohol.”
RLD also asks lawmakers to reconsider the procedure for immediate injunctions if businesses are accused of violating the rules. Regulators claim that they have to wait weeks to hear from a district judge.
