ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico marijuana regulators on Tuesday revoked the licenses of 2 rising operations in a rural county for a large number of violations and feature levied a $1 million nice in opposition to every industry.
Probably the most companies — Local American Agricultural Construction Co. — is hooked up to a Navajo businessman whose hashish farming operations in northwestern New Mexico have been raided via federal government in 2020. The Navajo Division of Justice additionally sued Dineh Benally, resulting in a court docket order halting the ones operations.
A gaggle of Chinese language immigrant staff sued Benally and his buddies — and claimed they have been lured to northern New Mexico and compelled to paintings lengthy hours illegally trimming marijuana at the Navajo Country, the place rising the plant is against the law.
Within the realize made public Tuesday via New Mexico’s Hashish Regulate Department, Local American Agricultural Construction used to be accused of exceeding the state’s plant rely limits, of now not monitoring and tracing its stock, and for growing unsafe prerequisites.
An e-mail message searching for remark at the allegations used to be now not right away returned via Benally. David Jordan, an legal professional who represented him within the previous case, didn’t go back a telephone message Tuesday.
The opposite industry to have its license revoked used to be Bliss Farm, additionally situated in rural Torrance County inside of miles of Benally’s operation. State officers mentioned the 2 companies, east of Albuquerque, aren’t attached by any means.
The state ordered each to right away prevent all industrial hashish process.
“The illicit process carried out at either one of those farms undermines the nice paintings that many hashish companies are doing around the state,” Clay Bailey, appearing superintendent of the New Mexico Law and Licensing Division, mentioned in a commentary. “The over the top quantity of unlawful hashish crops and different critical violations demonstrates a blatant fail to remember for public well being and protection, and for the legislation.”
State regulators cited Bliss Farm for 17 violations. Regulators mentioned proof of a up to date harvest with out information entered into the state’s music and hint device led the department to conclude that crops have been transferred or bought illicitly.
Adam Oakey, an Albuquerque legal professional representing the crowd of buyers that personal the operation, advised The Related Press in an interview that the corporate had was hoping the state would have first labored with it to handle one of the vital problems sooner than revoking the license.
“We did our easiest to get into compliance however we fell under the bar,” he mentioned, including that he’s afraid the state’s motion may discourage others within the trade from coming to New Mexico.
The corporate already has invested tens of hundreds of thousands of greenbacks into the operation and can most probably have to visit court docket to reopen the farm, Oakey mentioned.
As for Local American Agricultural Construction, regulators mentioned there have been about 20,000 mature crops on website online — 4 occasions greater than the quantity allowed underneath its license. Inspectors additionally discovered any other 20,000 immature crops.
The different violations incorporated fallacious safety features, no chain of custody procedures, and ill-maintained grounds with trash and pests during. Compliance officials additionally noticed proof of a up to date harvest however no crops have been entered into the state’s track-and-trace device.
The violations have been first reported final fall via Searchlight New Mexico, an impartial information group. On the time, Navajo Legal professional Common Ethel Department advised the nonprofit team that the tribe and the Shiprock house nonetheless deserved justice for the hurt performed up to now via the develop operation that have been arrange in northwestern New Mexico years previous.
Federal prosecutors won’t remark, however the New Mexico Legal professional Common’s Workplace showed Tuesday that typically it “continues to analyze, with our federal companions, attainable criminality inside the New Mexico hashish trade.”
