Company vows to sue over damages after New Mexico authorities destroy
cannabis crops
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[November 05, 2024] By
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
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.
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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.
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