KRQE
A bill that would empower state cannabis regulators to crack down on criminal pot operations in New Mexico is on the table this legislative session, three years after recreational sales became legal in the state.
The Cannabis Control Division is pushing House Bill 10 which would create a task force of six experienced law enforcement officers to put a stop to those defying the Cannabis Regulation Act. “Currently, we only have administrative powers, so we can fine, suspend, revoke licenses. But if we stumble across products or illicit activity, we then are limited in that power,” said Todd Steven the Director of The Cannabis Control Division.
Currently, the CCD must refer violations of criminal law to local and state law enforcement. The division says establishing this task force will essentially unburden police. “This would allow us to continue down that path while following due process, going to courts, getting search warrants or injunctions, and then being able to act on those with the orders from those courts,” continued Stevens.
On Thursday, federal agents raided two massive cannabis-growing operations in Estancia.
The CCD had already revoked their licenses and slapped them with hefty fines, yet they did not have the authority to take further action.
The CCD said that by removing the red tape, they could expedite these cases which would ultimately benefit the local cannabis industry and ensure that consumers have access to safe federally regulated products. “These illicit, illegal, gray market products, producers, dispensaries, they burden our regulated, good faith, good operators, and it makes them very difficult to operate in a legal space,” emphasized Stevens.
This bill would also provide new tools authorizing the CCD to seize, and issue administrative holds on cannabis products.
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