DOJ Says Seizure of Industrial Cannabis Product Not Protestable

The Department of Justice on April 23 filed a motion to dismiss Root Sciences' Court of International Trade challenge of CBP's seizure of a shipment of a cannabis crude extract recovery machine. DOJ says that CIT lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to CBP's seizure of goods, and the relevant federal district court is the proper venue to challenge seizures.

Root Sciences filed the lawsuit after CBP seized a part of a machine “designed for the recovery of cannabis crude extract from cannabis biomass.” The agency stopped the part from being brought into the U.S. under suspicion of it being drug paraphernalia. Root Sciences launched its case in CIT as a 1581(a) challenge of a denied protest, but DOJ says seizures are not protestable decisions, and a message saying Root's protest was deemed denied was sent in error.

According to DOJ, Root Sciences claims its good were withheld under deemed exclusion -- a process that prevents goods from entering the country if CBP does not make a final determination on their admissibility within 30 days after they are presented for customs examination. But CBP made an admissibility decision within the 30-day time frame, finding it inadmissible and opting to seize the merchandise, DOJ said.

Recourse for Root Sciences should be directed to a federal district court, DOJ said. “Root Sciences can only challenge the seizure in federal district court,” it said. “Because this Court lacks jurisdiction over the seizure and cannot provide Root Sciences with any relief, and because there is no deemed denial of a valid protest to trigger the Court’s jurisdiction under Section 1581(a), the complaint must be dismissed.”