California legalizes marijuana for recreational use Monday, but that won't stop federal agents from seizing the drug -- even in tiny amounts -- on busy freeways and backcountry highways. Marijuana possession still will be prohibited at eight Border Patrol checkpoints in California, a reminder that state and federal laws collide when it comes to pot. The U.S. government classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD. "Prior to Jan. 1, it's going to be the same after Jan. 1, because nothing changed on our end," said Ryan Yamasaki, an assistant chief of the Border Patrol's San Diego sector. "If you're a federal law enforcement agency, you uphold federal laws." [continues 891 words]
PHOENIX - Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the border fence. Surveillance video on Wednesday captured the large package launching through the air over the fence from Mexico to the U.S. Agents on the ground found a large, plastic-wrapped bundle worth about $48,000. Spokeswoman Stephanie Dixon said drug smugglers are increasingly launching massive bundles of pot over the border fence, posing a danger to nearby residents and businesses because of their weight. She said she knew of one incident in which a bundle went through the roof of a dog house. [continues 368 words]
SAN DIEGO -- A former Mexican lawmaker arrested at the California border was charged Thursday with working for the Sinaloa drug cartel, whose once-powerful kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was extradited to the United States in January. Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez, a former representative in the Sinaloa state legislature, was charged Thursday in federal court in San Diego with conspiracy to distribute 11 pounds (five kilograms) of cocaine in the United States between January 2013 and January 2017. She was arrested Wednesday morning trying to enter San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, according to court documents. A Customs and Border Patrol agent at the border crossing discovered her visa had been cancelled by the U.S. State Department and she was suspected of drug trafficking. [continues 157 words]
A U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday to smuggling backpacks he believed contained drugs across the border. Appearing in a federal courtroom in San Diego, Noe Lopez pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of cocaine. He faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years for each of the two counts and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. Lopez, a 10-year Border Patrol veteran who worked out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Dec. 14 as a result of a two-month undercover sting. [continues 213 words]
[photo] A cross-border drug smugglers' tunnel that had been shut down but left unfilled on the Mexican side was found to be back in operation in December, officials said. (Mexico attorney general's office / Associated Press) Mexican drug cartels have burrowed dozens of tunnels in the last decade, outfitted them with rail and cart systems to whisk drugs under the U.S. border and, after being discovered by authorities, abandoned them. But some of the illicit passageways live on. At least six previously discovered border tunnels have been reactivated by Mexican trafficking groups in recent years, exposing a recurring large-scale smuggling threat, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials. [continues 1017 words]
To the editor: An addiction is requiring or needing something urgently on a regular basis. Tobacco, booze and other chemicals are an example. Then, the next question is: how do we become addicted? Some become addicted after a serious injury, etc. after a doctor has prescribed a chemical to ease their pain or discomfort. Others become addicted through some social behaviour, such as when you are out with friends and they introduce you to some chemical, such as cocaine or the like, thus an addiction is set up. [continues 645 words]
SIERRA VISTA - If examples from Washington and Colorado are any indication, should Arizona voters pass Prop 205 this November and legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, there should be little to no federal interference with state law, even in areas with a high number of federal law enforcement agents, such as Cochise County. Just don't try to drive through a U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint with your state sanctioned weed, said Vic Brabble, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman for Arizona. [continues 1491 words]
Security director says it's unclear whether move will cause delays DETROIT - Could a pot-smoking Canada trigger congestion along the United States border? As the Trudeau government presses ahead with plans to legalize the sale and purchase of pot, some are wondering whether it could result in longer wait times at the approximate 120 official ports of entry along the northern border. "It's an unknown now, but it could have the effect of really slowing down, not just travellers, but truckers, too," said Stan Korosec, director of security and Canadian government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co. [continues 599 words]
In response to July 8th editorial in the Yuma Sun, about the panel finding major revenue potential in marijuana. "Slap in the face." Major concern with the legalization of marijuana in any format, medical or recreational, is that we are a border town. We here in the Yuma area are very proud of our Border Patrol officers, and law enforcement officers. They are on their toes when it comes to protecting us from illegal people trying to beat the system by, "jumping the wall." [continues 148 words]
Chinese Fentanyl From Mexico Is Just One Lethal Legacy of Open Borders There is also the Open Borders of things. What are they bringing with them? Heroin? Cocaine? Methamphetamines? And now fentanyl? Plus the murder and gang violence that are a part of this trade? On June 9, The New York Times ran this headline on Page A1: "Drug That Killed Prince Is Making Mexican Cartels Richer, U.S. Says." The first line of the story reads, "The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States - and immensely profitable, American officials say." [continues 744 words]
Mexico City - WHEN the Mexican Army actually allows journalists to watch its soldiers in action, it's often to see them burning marijuana crops. It's strictly for show, but it's fun. You get to fly in a military helicopter over the Sierra Madre, then touch down to see troops posing with their rifles as they walk into green marijuana fields. And the highlight: You watch hundreds of pounds of grass go up in flames. Mexican soldiers have been conducting this ritual for decades, and the photos have come to define the country's war on drugs. But amid a wave of drug policy reform, those photos may soon disappear from news pages and be relegated to historical archives. [continues 777 words]
Regarding the April 21 news article "Canada to introduce bill to allow marijuana sales": The idea of people from the United States jumping the border to take a few legal puffs of pots seems dangerous to me. Wouldn't it be a safer solution for border states to legalize the drug to save potential partakers from driving in unfavorable conditions for anounce of herbal bliss? Couldn't we as a nation finda way to follow Canada's lead and regulate the substance like we do alcohol and cigarettes? Wouldn't it save border patrol and law enforcement's time if Americans stayed put to get their product? Charles Clark Jr., Manassas [end]
SAN DIEGO - Brayan Valle was looking to buy some marijuana. When he reached out to a business associate of his uncle's, a drug connection, Valle became involved in a much more serious - and novel - - offense. Rather than sell him the marijuana, the associate asked for Valle's help to smuggle drugs over the U.S.-Mexico border by drone. The case signals the first drone drug-smuggling seizure along the Southwest border. On Thursday, Valle, now 21, was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in operating the drone remote control and loading up 30 pounds of heroin dropped into a Calexico-area field on April 28. [continues 392 words]
U.S. customs officers at the Otay Mesa border crossing found the tablets hidden in the man's underwear. There were more than 1,000 pills labeled as oxycodone, but a Drug Enforcement Administration lab later discovered that the tablets contained a far stronger opiate - fentanyl. The Feb. 10 confiscation is believed to be the first time federal officials along the California-Mexico border intercepted fentanyl tablets disguised as oxycodone, raising concerns among authorities that such cover-ups could lead to fatal consequences. [continues 503 words]
Sometimes the curtain is pulled aside, allowing us to see what's going on in the often-opaque worlds of government and finance. Such an occasion has been happening with what's being called the Panama Papers, released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. It's going to take not months, but years, to wade through the estimated 11 million documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in crafting tax shelters. But initial disclosures are both troubling and offer insight. "The documents reference 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials," CNN reported. Implicated, in particular, are associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin; FIFA, the global soccer governing body, 40 of whose officials were indicted in 2015 by the U.S. Justice Department on corruption charges; and Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson. [continues 219 words]
Ranchers Rally Over Security Problems ANIMAS - Several hundred ranchers gathered at a small-town high school in the Bootheel on Thursday to rally against what they described as a broken border. Also present were members and representatives of New Mexico's congressional delegation and officials from public security agencies, including the Border Patrol, Army, National Guard and sheriffs. More than 600 people showed up at a school auditorium in Animas, population 237. Ranchers here have been steaming over the reported kidnapping of a ranch hand in December, when drug runners allegedly hijacked the man's vehicle, loaded it with narcotics and drove him to Arizona. He came home "roughed up," his employer Tricia Elbrock said, but he survived the ordeal. [continues 621 words]
Competition from U.S. growers is cutting into Mexican pot's value and size of the market Legal marijuana may be doing at least one thing that a decades-long drug war couldn't: taking a bite out of Mexican drug cartels' profits. The latest data from the U.S. Border Patrol shows that last year marijuana seizures along the Southwest border tumbled to their lowest level in at least a decade. Agents snagged roughly 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the border, down from a peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009. [continues 516 words]
Legal Marijuana Is Cutting into Mexican Drug Cartels' Profits. The latest data from the U.S. Border Patrol shows that last year marijuana seizures along the southwest border tumbled to their lowest level in at least a decade. Agents snagged roughly 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the border, down from a peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009. The data supports the many stories about the difficulties marijuana growers in Mexico face in light of increased competition from the north. As domestic marijuana production has ramped up in places such as California, Colorado and Washington state, marijuana prices have fallen, especially at the bulk level. [continues 473 words]
Legal marijuana may be doing at least one thing that a decades-long drug war couldn't: taking a bite out of Mexican drug cartels' profits. The latest data from the Border Patrol shows that last year marijuana seizures along the southwest border tumbled to their lowest level in at least a decade. Agents snagged roughly 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the border, down from a peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009. As domestic marijuana production has ramped up in places such as California, Colorado and Washington, marijuana prices have fallen, especially at the bulk level. [end]
Agents of the U. S. Border Patrol are seizing fewer pounds of cannabis at the border. Legal marijuana may be doing at least one thing that a decades-long drugwar couldn't: taking a bite out of Mexican drug cartels' profits. The latest data from the U. S. Border Patrol show that last year marijuana seizures on the southwest border tumbled to their lowest level in at least a decade. Agents snagged about 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the border, down from a peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009. [continues 346 words]
