NM’s largest medical cannabis company committed to opening additional rural locations

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, a national medical cannabis leader with a large New Mexico presence, is opening its sixth location on June 22, 2016 in Albuquerque, making it the largest medical cannabis operator in the state. The new Albuquerque Westside location is a 1,200 square foot facility located at 5515 Coors Blvd NW Suite A.

This location will be Ultra Health’s third dispensary in the metro Albuquerque area – with two others in Albuquerque’s Northeast and Nob Hill area. Three other Ultra Health dispensaries are located in the communities of Santa Fe, Bernalillo and Hobbs. The Albuquerque Westside dispensary would mark Ultra Health’s sixth New Mexico location.

Ultra Health is also committed to increasing access in the underserved communities in New Mexico. Amendments have been submitted to the New Mexico Department of Health and are pending the department’s approval to proceed with dispensaries in Silver City, Alamogordo and Clovis. Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health, stated “Our mission has always been about delivering New Mexico’s best patient­-centric model of convenience, quality and affordability when it comes to medical­-grade cannabis.”

Although there is a great need in these areas, there are currently no convenient medical cannabis dispensaries in Silver City or Alamogordo. In Grant County, where Silver City is located, there are 7 medical cannabis cardholders per thousand population with a total of 215 medical cannabis cardholders. The number is even higher at nearly 8 cardholders per thousand in Otero county, where Alamogordo is located, for a total of 514 cardholders. Many medical cannabis patients must travel more than 100 miles to the nearest dispensary. Some patients must travel through United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints, where patients could potentially get their medical cannabis confiscated. These new Ultra Health locations would make it safer and more convenient for medical cannabis patients to secure their medicine.

There is only one limited-­hours medical cannabis dispensary in Clovis, whose hours of operation are less than 2 hours per day. Curry county has nearly 7 medical cannabis cardholders per thousand population with 328 cardholders total. Opening a full time Ultra Health location would not only benefit Curry county residents, but Roosevelt county residents as well. Medical cannabis cardholders in Roosevelt county account for nearly 9 cardholders per thousand population, for a total of 99 cardholders. By opening a full time Ultra Health location in Clovis, medical cannabis patients would have better hours of service and more purchasing options than previously. Otherwise patients would have to travel more than 100 miles to the nearest full time dispensary.