The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are urging a New Mexico federal court to toss claims by eight cannabis companies alleging that federal agents wrongfully seized cannabis, money, and property at checkpoints.
DHS said in a motion filed Tuesday that the complaint must be dismissed because there is no federally recognized property right for cannabis, which remains federally illegal under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and does not fall under constitutional protections.
While cannabis might be legal in New Mexico, that does not create a property interest entitled to due process protection, the agency argued, and therefore the companies were not entitled to additional process when their cannabis and cash were seized.
The agency added that the companies were on clear notice that the products were still illegal under the CSA and that CBP would continue to enforce federal CSA violations, which also weakens the companies’ procedural due process claims.
