Current:Home > Contact-usNew Mexico regulators revoke the licenses of 2 marijuana grow operations and levies $2M in fines-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
New Mexico regulators revoke the licenses of 2 marijuana grow operations and levies $2M in fines
View Date:2024-12-24 00:40:58
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico marijuana regulators on Tuesday revoked the licenses of two growing operations in a rural county for numerous violations and have levied a $1 million fine against each business.
One of the businesses — Native American Agricultural Development Co. — is connected to a Navajo businessman whose cannabis farming operations in northwestern New Mexico were raided by federal authorities in 2020. The Navajo Department of Justice also sued Dineh Benally, leading to a court order halting those operations.
A group of Chinese immigrant workers sued Benally and his associates — and claimed they were lured to northern New Mexico and forced to work long hours illegally trimming marijuana on the Navajo Nation, where growing the plant is illegal.
In the notice made public Tuesday by New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division, Native American Agricultural Development was accused of exceeding the state’s plant count limits, of not tracking and tracing its inventory, and for creating unsafe conditions.
An email message seeking comment on the allegations was not immediately returned by Benally. David Jordan, an attorney who represented him in the earlier case, did not return a phone message Tuesday.
The other business to have its license revoked was Bliss Farm, also located in rural Torrance County within miles of Benally’s operation. State officials said the two businesses, east of Albuquerque, are not connected in any way.
The state ordered both to immediately stop all commercial cannabis activity.
“The illicit activity conducted at both of these farms undermines the good work that many cannabis businesses are doing across the state,” Clay Bailey, acting superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, said in a statement. “The excessive amount of illegal cannabis plants and other serious violations demonstrates a blatant disregard for public health and safety, and for the law.”
State regulators cited Bliss Farm for 17 violations. Regulators said evidence of a recent harvest without records entered into the state’s track and trace system led the division to conclude that plants were transferred or sold illicitly.
Adam Oakey, an Albuquerque attorney representing the group of investors that own the operation, told The Associated Press in an interview that the company had hoped the state would have first worked with it to address some of the issues before revoking the license.
“We did our best to get into compliance but we fell below the bar,” he said, adding that he’s afraid the state’s action might discourage others in the industry from coming to New Mexico.
The company already has invested tens of millions of dollars into the operation and will likely have to go to court to reopen the farm, Oakey said.
As for Native American Agricultural Development, regulators said there were about 20,000 mature plants on site — four times more than the number allowed under its license. Inspectors also found another 20,000 immature plants.
The other violations included improper security measures, no chain of custody procedures, and ill-maintained grounds with trash and pests throughout. Compliance officers also saw evidence of a recent harvest but no plants had been entered into the state’s track-and-trace system.
The violations were first reported last fall by Searchlight New Mexico, an independent news organization. At the time, Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch told the nonprofit group that the tribe and the Shiprock area still deserved justice for the harm done previously by the grow operation that had been set up in northwestern New Mexico years earlier.
Federal prosecutors will not comment, but the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office confirmed Tuesday that in general it “continues to investigate, with our federal partners, potential criminal activity within the New Mexico cannabis industry.”
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Ben Foster files to divorce Laura Prepon after 6 years, according to reports
- Inflation ticked up in October, CPI report shows. What happens next with interest rates?
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
- Megan Fox Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby With Machine Gun Kelly
- Birth control and abortion pill requests have surged since Trump won the election
- The Office's Kate Flannery Defends John Krasinski's Sexiest Man Alive Win
- Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn’s SKIMS Holiday Pajamas Are Selling Out Fast—Here’s What’s Still Available
- Beyoncé nominated for album of the year at Grammys — again. Will she finally win?
- Maine elections chief who drew Trump’s ire narrates House tabulations in livestream
Ranking
- The Masked Singer's Ice King Might Be a Jonas Brother
- Man gets a life sentence in the shotgun death of a New Mexico police officer
- Congress is revisiting UFOs: Here's what's happened since last hearing on extraterrestrials
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed: Reports
- OneTaste Founder Nicole Daedone Speaks Out on Sex Cult Allegations Against Orgasmic Meditation Company
- Tech consultant testifies that ‘bad joke’ led to deadly clash with Cash App founder Bob Lee
- A wayward sea turtle wound up in the Netherlands. A rescue brought it thousands of miles back home
Recommendation
-
Princess Kate makes rare public appearance after completing cancer chemo
-
Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
-
A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
-
Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
-
NFL Week 10 injury report: Live updates on active, inactive players for Sunday's games
-
Kathy Bates likes 'not having breasts' after her cancer battle: 'They were like 10 pounds'
-
Mississippi woman pleads guilty to stealing Social Security funds
-
Ryan Reynolds Makes Dream Come True for 9-Year-Old Fan Battling Cancer