Eight state-licensed cannabis companies in New Mexico have filed a federal lawsuit, accusing the U.S. government of refusing to return more than $1 million in marijuana seized at interior Border Patrol checkpoints.
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.
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