BANGOR — The top U.S. Border Patrol agent in Maine cautioned residents Monday that officers will still confiscate marijuana when they encounter it and that even family connections to the cannabis industry can disqualify someone from federal employment.
Chief Daniel Hiebert, who heads the Houlton sector of the Border Patrol, said Maine voters’ legalization of recreational marijuana last November and the state’s well-established medical marijuana program do not change his agents’ obligation to follow federal law.
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And while Hiebert said Maine’s Border Patrol agents are not actively searching for marijuana, they won’t ignore the drug if they encounter it while carrying out their security responsibilities along Maine’s more than 600-mile border with Canada.
