The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has seized and destroyed several marijuana plants from a licensed Santa Fe dispensary after two employees were burned in a recent explosion.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Santa Fe police asked the DEA to help investigate the blast at NewMexiCann Natural Medicine on July 23.
Although New Mexico has legalized medical marijuana, DEA spokesman Eduardo Chavez says agents acted in accordance with federal law, which still finds marijuana illegal, when they seized the plants. The removal of the plants has been questioned by an official with the New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance who says the DEA's actions were "overzealous."
The two employees were using a process to extract THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, right before the explosion. They both are recovering from burn injuries.
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