New Mexico State Agency Releases Draft Rules for Commercial Cannabis Activity

Little evidence provided to support proposed rules that include limits on production, licensing fees

(Santa Fe) – The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) released the first set of draft rules to govern the state’s commercial cannabis activity, including the administration of the Medical Cannabis Program and adult-use cannabis activities, on Tuesday. 

The rules include provisions on requirements for licensure, limits on production for cannabis producers, annual license fees, and per-plant fees. 

Specifically, the rules outline predeterminations for cannabis producer license types under the following classes:

  • Level 1: 201 – 2,500 mature cannabis plants;
  • Level 2: 2,501 – 3,500 mature cannabis plants; and
  • Level 3: 3,501 – 4,500 mature cannabis plants. 

Continue reading “New Mexico State Agency Releases Draft Rules for Commercial Cannabis Activity”


New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program Approaching 125,000 enrollees

Program momentum continues as April marks single-biggest cardholder gain in the last 12 months

(Albuquerque) – Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program reached 115,732 patients as of April 30, 2021, according to recent data released by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). This represents an increase of 25,810 patients or 29% over April 2020 enrollment. 

Along with the enrolled patients, the program is serving 9,781 reciprocal participants, according to data released by NMDOH. 

Continue reading “New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program Approaching 125,000 enrollees”


On the New Mexico-Texas border, a new kind of green energy

Sam Gilbert for the Santa Fe New Mexican 
Published on May 8, 2021

CLAYTON — As Ernest Sanchez grew up in this small town, the place was full of life.

“When I was a kid, all these places were open,” Sanchez, 67, said while driving past a series of old red-brick buildings toward the center of Clayton.

“That used to be a drug store,” he said, pointing to a large building a few blocks from the train tracks. “It had one of those old soda fountains. You’d sit at the counter, get a Coke or an ice cream while Mom and Dad did the shopping.”

That image of Clayton has all but disappeared. The pharmacy and most other stores of Sanchez’s youth have closed. Main Street is now a series of shuttered businesses, reflecting the steady economic decline of a place that once depended upon ranching and the railroad for its livelihood.

Continue reading “On the New Mexico-Texas border, a new kind of green energy”


Decisions by judge, regulator boost New Mexico’s marijuana market

MJ Biz Daily
Published on May 6, 2021

The biggest medical marijuana business in New Mexico, Ultra Health, is celebrating another legal victory after a district court judge sided with the company’s lawsuit alleging that regulators inappropriately limited which out-of-state patients could buy MMJ under the state’s reciprocity rules.

According to the medical marijuana statute, legitimate MMJ patients from other states may buy the medicine in New Mexico.

Continue reading “Decisions by judge, regulator boost New Mexico’s marijuana market”


Judge: New Mexico rules on medical cannabis overstep law

Dillan Mullan / Santa Fe New Mexican
Published on May 4, 2021

A state district judge on Monday ruled the New Mexico Department of Health has been overstepping the Legislature’s intentions for the Medical Cannabis Program by limiting who can receive patient cards.

The ruling comes in a complaint filed by New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health, the state’s largest medical cannabis producer. First District Judge Matthew Wilson heard arguments April 28 in the case, in which Ultra Health contended more than 5,000 people, most from out of state, were being wrongly denied access to medical cannabis.

“The department prevents enrollment if they present identification and authorization from different jurisdictions,” state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, an attorney representing Ultra Health, said in last week’s hearing. “The department may think this is good policy, but it is a decision that is beyond the scope of their rule-making authority, and as a result, hundreds of patients a day are unable to access cannabis in New Mexico.”

State statute says someone with proof of authorization in a medical cannabis program in another state can purchase cannabis in New Mexico and be enrolled in the Department of Health’s database as a so-called reciprocal patient.

According to Wilson’s ruling, the department made a rule change in March and began barring reciprocal patients with IDs from other states from enrolling in New Mexico’s patient program and also began denying New Mexico residents from enrolling as regular patients if they otherwise would qualify as reciprocal patients.

“We are in receipt of the writ and the NMDOH is considering legal options,” Department of Health spokesman Jim Walton said in an email.

The Department of Health also has an appeal pending of Wilson’s ruling in a similar case Ultra Health filed last year over rules on reciprocal patients.

Wilson in October overturned an “emergency” rule change the agency made in September, saying there was no reason to alter the reciprocity rule without a regular process. The Department of Health appealed the ruling to the New Mexico Court of Appeals and later altered the reciprocity rule through a standard process.

Asked whether the appeal will continue, Walton wrote, “The NMDOH doesn’t control whether a district court case will continue and we have no immediate plans to dismiss any of the pending appeals.”

Thomas Bird, an attorney with Keleher & McLeod who has been representing the Department of Health in numerous medical marijuana cases, argued at last week’s hearing the agency had the authority to enforce regulations.

“I think Ultra Health is beating a square peg into a round hole,” Bird said. “The Legislature left to the department the discretion to make judgment calls about what kind of restrictions are appropriate.”

Duke Rodriguez, CEO of Ultra Health, lauded Wilson’s decision this week. “While the NMDOH has not been compassionate in respecting the full rights and needs of patients, thankfully the courts have repeatedly held them accountable,” he said. “The law is clear, and patients’ rights cannot simply be set aside by a regulator.”

Ultra Health, which operates 25 dispensaries statewide and said in a news release it plans to open another 10 stores this year, has sued the Department of Health multiple times over Medical Cannabis Program rules and gross receipts taxes on products for patients.

Most recently, state District Judge Bryan Biedscheid in February ordered the department to roll back regulations made without consulting the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Advisory Board as required under state law.

New Mexico Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins filed an ethics complaint in March accusing Ultra Health’s attorney, Candelaria, of misconduct for voting on legislation she said would have a direct effect on the company and lead to personal gain for the senator. The State Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint, saying it didn’t have jurisdiction over complaints regarding Senate rules.

Following Wilson’s ruling Monday, Candelaria filed a notice of his intent to sue Collins, alleging the ethics complaint was filed in retaliation for his request for public records related to the state’s response to COVID-19.

In June, licensing for cannabis providers will shift from the Department of Health to the Regulation and Licensing Department’s Cannabis Control Division in preparation for legal production and sales of recreational cannabis for adults over 21. The new division will begin accepting and processing license applications no later than Sept. 1, according to a news release from Department of Health.

Existing businesses can continue operating under their Department of Health license until a new license is processed with the division, the news release said. Legal cannabis sales in New Mexico are to begin by April 1.


New Mexico Judge Orders State Agency To Reinstate Cannabis Reciprocity Eligibility

Court victory grants greater access for patients to engage in the Medical Cannabis Program

(Albuquerque) – New Mexico District Court Judge Mattew J. Wilson issued a Writ of Mandamus on May 3, 2021, effectively expanding eligibility for thousands of reciprocal cannabis patients in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program.

The writ, filed by Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, contends that the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) promulgated a rule that was not consistent with the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act (LECUA), the Medical Cannabis Program’s enabling legislation. Continue reading “New Mexico Judge Orders State Agency To Reinstate Cannabis Reciprocity Eligibility”