Medical pot producer: EXPO N.M. obstructs free speech
Firm sues over restrictions on its state fair display
A state-licensed medical marijuana producer is suing EXPO New Mexico officials, saying restrictions on what the company would be allowed to display in an informational booth during the annual state fair in Albuquerque violate free speech laws.
New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health says in a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court that the rules are so strict the company couldn’t even display its logo, which features a stylized image of a marijuana leaf, and would moot the purpose of having an informational booth at the fair.
It’s not the first conflict between fair managers and Ultra Health, which last summer placed a small marijuana plant at a booth on the fairgrounds. Ultra Health President Duke Rodriguez said his company had permission to display the nonflowering seedling, but about seven hours after the plant went on display, fair officials ordered its removal, citing complaints from “higher up.” But that wasn’t the end of the matter. The state Department of Health later notified Ultra Health that displaying the plant violated rules governing the nonprofit’s license to grow medical cannabis and said the producer would be sanctioned by having to close for five days including April 20, a holiday of sorts for marijuana users.
Rodriguez, who estimated that closing seven dispensaries around the state for five days would cost the company more than $150,000, sued the department in state District Court, contending the sanction was excessive, not supported by law and would hurt patients. In April, Ultra Health successfully petitioned the state court to stay the sanction until a judge can hear those arguments.
The lawsuits are indicative of ongoing friction between marijuana advocates and government officials in the wake of sweeping nationwide changes to marijuana law and attitudes toward use of the plant. Ultra Health contends it is part of a legal, regulated industry but is being subjected to unfair treatment.
When Ultra Health asked EXPO New Mexico officials for clarification on what the company would and would not be allowed to display if the producer chose to have a booth at this year’s state fair, it received a email from EXPO New Mexico Director of Concessions Raina Bingham that said, “You may not bring onto the EXPO New Mexico campus any and all cannabis and cannabis derived products including CDB products.” [CDB stands for cannabidiol, a cannabis compound that is not supposed to cause users to feel high but to provide medicinal benefits.]
“Moreover, you may not bring any type of drug paraphernalia that could be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body any type of cannabis or other controlled substance,” Bingham’s email said.
Ultra Health’s lawsuit says those restrictions would prohibit them from displaying a microscope, a scale, a shovel, or even a cardboard box, as those items could be used in the cultivation or storage of cannabis.
The next line in Bingham’s email, the suit claims, goes even further in restricting the producer’s First Amendment rights.
“You are also precluded from displaying any image of the above restricted items in any way to include banners,
flyers clothing or any other medium,” it reads.
Under those rules, the producer claims, it would be prevented from showing even a drawing of a cannabis plant or “a T-shirt of Bob Marley holding a cannabis product.”
EXPO New Mexico spokeswoman Erin Thompson said in an email Thursday that fair officials are empowered by statute to set restrictions for informational booths.
Asked if the email was meant to prohibit even images of cannabis from being displayed, Thompson replied: “That is difficult to answer without seeing specific materials/merchandise, but we have in the past asked other vendors to remove items that included images of cannabis leaves (such as t-shirts etc.).”
Thomson did not respond to a follow-up question asking what the basis for such exclusions might be.
The company decided not to seek permission for a booth at the upcoming state fair but is asking the federal court to declare that the rules stated by fair officials are illegal and to confirm Ultra Health’s right “to educate and inform the public … without being subjected to content and viewpoint discrimination.”
“Ultra Health holds the viewpoint that medical cannabis is medically and economically beneficial,” the complaint says. But Expo New Mexico “does not accept or condone” that view, as evidenced by the fact that EXPO New Mexico used the words “drug paraphernalia” in its email, “As if Ultra Health is engaged in criminal activity, instead of medical activity regulated by the State.”