Deming Headlight / Algernon D’Ammassa
Published on February 8, 2017

DEMING – Luna County patient enrollment in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program increased by nearly 46.5 percent during 2017, according to statistics from the New Mexico Department of Health.

The number of registered patients in the county reached 271 last month, compared to 145 in January 2017.

The county’s enrollment growth outpaced the state’s 37 percent rate of growth last year. During 2017, New Mexico registered 17,599 new cannabis patients, reaching 47,840 by January 31. Every county saw an increase in enrollment.

Ultra Health, the largest medical marijuana provider in the state, predicts enrollment will top 60,000 by the end of 2018.

The leading qualifying conditions for state-approved marijuana prescriptions are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe chronic pain, and cancer.

Luna County’s rapid growth comes in spite of the fact that the county’s single dispensary still cannot open. Ultra Health acquired a single-use permit from the City of Deming in 2016 to open a dispensary on Spruce Street, but 17 months later the storefront remains empty as the provider fights with the Department of Health over opening the location.

The DOH has maintained that Ultra Health cannot operate additional locations and comply with the department’s limit of 450 plants per licensed provider. The plant count regulation is the subject of a lawsuit that concluded last year and is awaiting a ruling in Santa Fe’s First District Court.

Ultra Health spokeswoman Marissa Novell told the Headlight, “We remain committed to opening our dispensary in Deming regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit.”