Cannabis Seizures Decrease 98% At California/Mexico Ports Of Entry

Historically, one of the most active parts of the world for illegal cannabis activity was along the border shared between the United States and Mexico. For many years cannabis cultivated in Mexico, and farther south in the hemisphere, was smuggled into the United States where it was then transported throughout the country.

In recent years, however, demand in the United States for cannabis cultivated in Mexico has decreased significantly due in large part to the rise of the legal state-level cannabis industry in the U.S. Starting in 1996 with the legalization of medical cannabis in California, a number of states have passed medical cannabis reform measures in the U.S. that resulted in the spread of legal sales.

The spread of legal cannabis commerce in the United States accelerated in 2012 with the passage of adult-use legalization measures in Colorado and Washington State, leading to a situation today in which nearly half of the United States now lives where cannabis is legal, with many states currently allowing home cultivation to some degree in addition to permitting sales.

With all of that in mind, it likely doesn’t surprise anyone that cannabis seizures at California/Mexico ports of entry are down in recent years. Although, it may surprise people just how much of a reduction has occurred. Below is more information about it via a media release from United States Customs and Border Protection. As you will see, cannabis seizures are down 98%:

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting security operations at California’s ports of entry with Mexico performed more than 54.7 million inspections of travelers, seized more than 50 tons of illegal narcotics, and apprehended more than 74,000 immigration violators during federal fiscal year 2022.

CBP’s field office in San Diego includes the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico, Andrade and the San Diego air and seaports of entry.

During the fiscal year, which ended September 30, CBP officers at ports in San Diego and Imperial counties inspected more than 29 million passenger vehicles, more than 1.5 million trucks, almost 19,000 buses, and nearly 16 million pedestrians entering the U.S.

The total amount of narcotics seized during the year at California’s six ports of entry with Mexico decreased 38 percent compared to the previous period. Marijuana seizures decreased 98 percent to 320 pounds; cocaine seizures decreased by 23 percent to 8,790 pounds; heroin seizures decreased 68 percent to 764 pounds; methamphetamine seizures decreased 23 percent to 86,227 and fentanyl seizures increased by 5 percent to 6,704 pounds.