By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Albuquerque Journal

Published on September 10, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The brief appearance of a pot plant at the New Mexico State Fair on Thursday set off a kerfuffle that prompted officials to boot out a medical cannabis producer from the state’s big show.
State Fair officials acknowledged Friday that cannabis grower Ultra Health informed them in August that its display would include at least one live cannabis plant.

Event managers apparently hadn’t noticed the mention of a cannabis plant in the application materials until Ultra Health employees brought Dorothy – a 21-day-old female plant – into the Manuel Lujan Jr. exhibit complex.

Also Friday, New Mexico Department of Health officials questioned the legality of displaying a cannabis plant in public.

Duke Rodriguez, owner of Ultra Health, said he provided State Fair officials with a graphic representation of the display, including a “secure area where people can view cannabis plants.”

The graphic was among the materials Ultra Health submitted to the State Fair in August when the firm submitted its application for a exhibition booth, State Fair spokeswoman Erin Thompson said Friday.

But the graphic, and mention of the cannabis plant, “just got overlooked,” until this week, Thompson said. The State Fair intends to refund the $2,000 fee Ultra Health paid for the booth, she said.

State Fair managers decided late Thursday to bar the display after state Department of Health officials said that Ultra Health lacked authorization to display a cannabis plant in public, Thompson said.

The Department of Health, the state agency that oversees the medical cannabis program, said in a written statement Friday that Ultra Health may have violated the state’s medical cannabis law by displaying a plant outside a secured production facility.

“We are looking into the matter to determine what if any disciplinary action is appropriate,” DOH spokesman David Morgan said in a written statement.

The state’s Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act law calls for “cannabis production facilities within New Mexico housed on secured grounds and operated by licensed producers.”

Rodriguez responded that the cannabis plant on display at the State Fair was an immature plant that was not actively involved in the production medical cannabis. The site was securely controlled by Ultra Health employees, he said.

“There was no production occurring,” he said. “Medical cannabis production relates to the growing of plants, not to the displaying of plants.”