New Mexico Cannabis Sales Exceed $1.3 Billion with a Call for More Legislation and Inspectors

Alamogordo ranks as the 10th largest market in the state of New Mexico in cannabis sales. Cannabis sales in the state of New Mexico from 2022 to date has reached over $1.3 Billion making the product a valuable commodity. 

.At a meeting of the legislature’s Economic and Rural Development and Policy Committee this week, cannabis industry leaders called on lawmakers to give the state’s cannabis regulators more authority to address unlicensed marijuana businesses. Industry leaders actually called for more legislation and more inspectors to enforce laws. 

Cannabis advocates in New Mexico are calling on lawmakers to tighten the rules for the regulated marijuana industry and unlicensed cannabis businesses, arguing that businesses are failing in a saturated market that faces competition from unregulated businesses such as Hemp CBD producers. 

There’s a thriving illicit market; they’re not paying tax revenue; they’re not getting their products tested; they’re not packaging them right; they’re selling to minors,” said Justin Dye, CEO of licensed cannabis company R. Greenleaf, according to a report from KRQE news. R Greenleaf operates an Alamogordo location in addition to several locations across the state. 

Dye presented a list of proposed policy changes to the committee, including a proposal for the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) to add new inspectors to its Cannabis Control Division (CCD). Dye suggested increasing the number of inspectors to a level similar to other states such as Colorado and Oklahoma, which have three to five times as many inspectors per license holder. Until the CCD is able to deploy more inspectors, Dye proposed a temporary moratorium on issuing new cannabis business licenses.

Many locals in Alamogordo have called for a moratorium calling out the fact there are multiple dispensaries and yet the city is lacking bars or nightclubs for entertainment and the enjoyment of alcoholic beverages. 

Dye also called for a ban on hemp-derived cannabinoids, which are not subject to the same regulations as marijuana. A California ban on hemp THC went into effect last month, while a similar prohibition in New Jersey that went into effect on Saturday is not being enforced because of legal challenges. The legislature will convene in regular session in January and Cannabis legislation is sure to be a focus of several state legislators with a variety of bills in the pipeline for consideration.

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