Last week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a law that will change some things about New Mexico’s cannabis law.
The law makes a number of changes, including giving the Cannabis Control Division (CCD) authority to seize products suspected of being illicit, giving court judges greater freedom when sentencing juveniles for cannabis charges and making it easier for legacy medical cannabis businesses to convert to corporations.
The law also allows cannabis license holders to have a liquor license as long as they aren’t selling alcohol on the same property where marijuana is sold. Language in the original version of the Cannabis Regulation Act unintentionally forbade anyone from conducting business in both industries at the same time.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) has called it “clean-up” legislation. She told The Paper. that every state with legal weed has also had to make changes to their laws.
First Weed Company Gets LEDA Funds
A cannabis manufacturer in Clovis is the first weed business to receive money from the state’s Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) fund.
According to a news release from the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD), women-and family-owned Vana LLC, a Clovis manufacturer, has received $90,000 from the LEDA job-creation fund.
The business and its sister companies are licensed for indoor and outdoor cultivation, manufacturing and two retail locations. At full capacity, the company expects to employ 45 to 50 workers.
“EDD’s investment in Clovis-based Vana LLC is a testament to the success of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s forward-thinking economic policies,” said acting EDD Secretary Mark Roper, in a statement. “The legalization of recreational cannabis in New Mexico is growing businesses and helping rural communities diversify their economy and add jobs.”
Ultra Health Closing Santa Fe Store
Ultra Health, one of the largest cannabis companies in New Mexico, announced that it will be closing one of its Santa Fe dispensaries. The news arrives as some business owners say product and retailer oversaturation is starting to hurt the state’s adult-use weed industry.
Earlier this month, Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez announced that the company would be closing its Cerrillos Road dispensary location. Rodriguez told reporters that the location was too expensive to keep open.
Rodriguez has said that the industry is suffering losses due to oversaturation. Some New Mexican business owners have called for the state to temporarily freeze new licenses. State legislators proposed giving the CCD a mechanism by which it could temporarily pause new licenses as part of the recent cannabis changes bill, but the language was removed before the bill passed.
Ultra Health will continue running its other Santa Fe store on St. Michael’s Drive.