A New Mexico man whose medical marijuana garden was raided by federal agents on tribal territory last year is planning to file a lawsuit seeking $3.5 million is damages over what he and other advocates consider to be an example of racial discrimination in cannabis enforcement.
In September 2021, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) raided the garden of a member of the Pueblo of Picuris and destroyed nine plants he was growing for personal therapeutic use in compliance with state and tribal law.
Now, about a year later, Charles Farden has filed a tort claim indicating his intent to sue the federal government. He’s arguing that the raid was carried out without a legal warrant, and he says the enforcement action revealed a federal double standard that’s inherently discriminatory against Native peoples.
That’s because a congressional spending bill rider bars the Justice Department from using its federal funds to interfere in the implementation of state medical cannabis programs, which has generally safeguarded patients acting in compliance with state law. But BIA falls under the Interior Department, meaning it doesn’t have to adhere to the rider restriction.
The result is a policy that’s allowed prohibition to be selectively enforced in
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