Last month, a New Mexico marijuana farmer sued the state, claiming a negligent state worker destroyed the crop and eventually caused unexpectedly toxic flooding due to historical irrigation of the canal.
According to Albuquerque Journal, in an August 2023 incident, Albuquerque Cannabis Corp.
The lawsuit says the flood contaminated plants with “water submerged with manure.”
The lawsuit calls Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raul Torrez and other state officials the defendants.
State officials declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Albuquerque Canc.
The lawsuit alleges that a Los Luceros supervisor left a door to the acequia Open during irrigation.
“I think he just forgot to go home for lunch or anything and open it for a few hours,” Derek Watts, a principal of the company, told the newspaper.
The lawsuit says the open doors allow flooding of 650,000 gallons of toxic water to destroy the entire crop of Albuquerque Cannabis Company.
The lawsuit says the flood destroyed flowering plants and an estimated 400 pounds of processed flowers and pruning.
According to the lawsuit, later laboratory tests showed that the plants were “submerged by fecal bacteria,” presumably an irrigation ditch.
Watts said the company went bankrupt soon.
The lawsuit is the reason for the decline in licensed cannabis business in New Mexico.
Despite recent records on state consumers’ marijuana.
