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Company vows to sue over damages after New Mexico authorities destroy cannabis crops

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State police have destroyed tens of thousands of 
pounds of marijuana plants at greenhouses in northwestern New Mexico, 
marking what regulators say is the largest seizure and destruction of 
cannabis in New Mexico since new possession and cultivation laws took 
effect in 2021.

Authorities announced the operation Monday, saying dozens of agents were 
assigned to eradicate the plants in October. The state Cannabis Control 
Division had started the process of revoking the license of NNK Equity 
LLC, having filed a noncompliance order and a default order earlier this 
year.

The company was accused of not posting its licenses on site, failing to 
obtain water rights for cultivation, not having cameras that could monitor 
certain areas of its operation and violating sanitation and health 
requirements.

“The organization involved showed a blatant disregard for the laws of this 
state and we will prove that once this investigation is over,” New Mexico 
State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a statement.

Jacob Candelaria, an Albuquerque attorney who represents NNK Equity, 
disputed the state's claims and accused regulators and state police of 
violating his client's civil rights. He said the state failed to properly 
serve notice of its intent to revoke the company's license and 
subsequently denied a request for a hearing on the merits of the case.

He said clients Irving Lin and Bao Xue speak Mandarin Chinese and have 
limited ability to understand the written English language. Lin asked for 
a Chinese translation, but the attorney said regulators did not respond to 
his request.

The Cannabis Control Division stated in filings related to the case that 
it complied with notice and hearing requirements and had afforded the 
company its due process rights.

The company plans to ask a state district judge to set aside the order 
revoking the license and to order state regulators to hold a hearing, 
Candelaria said. He added that NNK Equity also plans to sue the state for 
destroying what he said amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars of 
private property.

“The idea that law enforcement officers can destroy public property based 
upon a temporary restraining order — which can be entered without notice 
to all parties and before a hearing on the evidence — which was the case 
here, should concern all of us who believe in the Constitution.”

According to state regulators, NNK Equity was issued a license in December 
2023 for a marijuana growing operation at a property in Waterflow, a rural 
area on the edge of the Navajo Nation and just south of the Colorado 
border. The region also made headlines earlier this year when state 
regulators cracked down on two other operations and Navajo Nation 
authorities ended up filing their own charges against two tribal members.

In the latest case, the Cannabis Control Division conducted a compliance 
check in June and determined that NNK Equity had exceeded its allotted 
plant count. The New Mexico State Police Special Investigations Unit was 
brought in and later found plants at a second location that was not 
licensed.

The violations outlined by state regulators also involve transportation 
and tracking requirements, which include assigning identifying numbers to 
each plant.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/company-vows-sue-over-damages-013447105.html

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Company vows to sue over damages after New Mexico authorities destroy cannabis crops "Keep 'em stoned!" <stoned@voting.dem> - 2024-11-09 02:54 +0100

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