Category: In the News

News stories featuring Ultra Health

Category: In the News

News stories featuring Ultra Health

New Mexico inmates’ right to medical marijuana affirmed

Posted on by Marissa

Michael Gerstein / Santa Fe New Mexican
Published on January 1, 2021

A state district judge in Albuquerque ruled this week that Bernalillo County’s Metropolitan Detention Center must allow qualifying patients access to medical marijuana, in a victory for advocates that could have far-reaching implications for jails and prisons.

It was unclear whether correctional facilities statewide would voluntarily comply with the ruling. But state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, an attorney who represented a defendant in the DWI case that led to the decision, said he intends to send notice to jails and prisons asking them to comply.

Candelaria said the ruling issued Tuesday creates a clear precedent that patients — even those who are incarcerated — must be allowed access to medical cannabis regardless of whether they’re at home or in a prison cell.

 

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Incarcerated Patients Have A Right To Use Medical Marijuana, New Mexico Judge Rules

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Kyle Jaeger / Marijuana Moment
Published on January 1, 2021

New Mexico judge has ruled that medical marijuana patients cannot be punished for using cannabis while incarcerated.

In a potentially precedent-setting case, District Court Judge Lucy Solimon granted a motion for declaratory judgement and petition for writ for Joe Montaño, who was penalized after correctional officers discovered marijuana in his possession while serving a 90-day sentence in home confinement.

The judge said that New Mexico’s medical cannabis law broadly protects registered patients, and those protections extend to people serving time in jails or prisons.

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How much green would recreational cannabis bring?

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Stephen Hamway / Albuquerque Journal
Published on December 27, 2020

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — During a legislative session where funds are expected to be at a premium, state lawmakers may look seriously at raising revenue through a controversial source: recreational cannabis.

However, lawmakers and industry advocates disagree on just how much the industry might bring to New Mexico. Some see a potential windfall for a state looking to diversify its economy, an industry that could generate up to $800 million in sales annually.

“No other state in the entire country is better postured, better positioned to succeed at legalization than New Mexico,” said Duke Rodriguez, founder of Ultra Health, the largest chain of dispensaries in the state.

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New Mexico’s medical marijuana sales rise as prospects for recreational legalization improve

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Jeff Smith/ MJ Biz Daily
Published on December 10, 2020

New Mexico’s medical marijuana sales have nearly doubled in the past two years despite strict plant-count limits, and the state might be better positioned to legalize recreational cannabis after neighboring Arizona did so last month.

Marijuana Business Daily projects an adult-use cannabis market in New Mexico could generate $350 million in annual store sales by its fourth year of operation.

The state’s MMJ sales, meanwhile, are rising. Fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and patient growth, sales are on pace to reach around $200 million this year.

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New Mexico Panel Recommends Raising Medical Pot Plant Count

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Susan Montoya Bryan / Associated Press
Published on December 9,  2020

An advisory board is recommending that New Mexico clear the way for licensed medical marijuana producers to grow more plants.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An advisory board recommended Wednesday that New Mexico clear the way for licensed medical marijuana producers to grow more plants amid persistent concerns about the high costs of cannabis and the lack of variety for patients across the state.

The board during an online meeting voted to recommend that the state health secretary consider increasing the current plant count.

The vote came in response to a petition that sought to either eliminate the limit altogether or significantly increase the number of plants that can be grown by each producer.

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Hempire: New Mexico’s fledgling hemp industry might fall behind if the state and federal governments don’t catch up

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Julie Ann Grimm / Santa Fe Reporter
Published on October 21, 2020

The 2 million hemp plants waving in a field outside Moriarty under the September sun weren’t part of the plan.

But when nature does its work and seedlings show up on the job, farmers go with it.

At least these farmers did.

Continue reading “Hempire: New Mexico’s fledgling hemp industry might fall behind if the state and federal governments don’t catch up”

New Mexico Judge Wants To Loosen Medical Cannabis Reciprocity

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Addison Herron-Wheeler / High Times Magazine
Published on October 15, 2020

Reciprocity has long been an issue in the state of New Mexico, and one that has been up for debate for some time. Now, a district court judge wants to make a change to current law, ruling that reciprocal medical cannabis patients should be able to access cannabis even if they have a recommendation to use medical cannabis from another state.

If this ruling passes, those with New Mexico medical cannabis cards will be able to get cannabis in other states that allow reciprocity, and those with cards from other states will be able to get cards in New Mexico. This will expand the industry and the patients flooding in to use medical cannabis in New Mexico.

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Judge overrules state over New Mexico medical marijuana reciprocity

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MJ Biz Daily
Published on October 14, 2020

A New Mexico judge rescinded new state requirements that made it more difficult for certain out-of-state visitors to access the medical cannabis program through a reciprocity provision.

Santa Fe District Judge Matthew Wilson, in a ruling Tuesday, agreed with Ultra Health, the state’s leading MMJ operator, that the additional requirements went beyond New Mexico statute and are unenforceable.

The judge’s ruling could result in an increase in sales for medical marijuana retailers in New Mexico.

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Medical cannabis producer sues New Mexico agency, alleges overreach

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Phaedra Haywood / Santa Fe New Mexican
Published on September 29, 2020

New Mexico’s largest licensed medical cannabis producer says in a new lawsuit the state Department of Health is once again overstepping its authority when it comes to regulating the drug.

New Mexico Top Organics Ultra Health says the Department of Health has created new rules that make it harder for people enrolled in medical cannabis programs in other states and those operated by tribal governments to obtain patient identification cards through the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program. The company’s complaint — filed Sept. 22 in state District Court — alleges rule changes announced Sept. 11 and the way they were created violate state laws.

Ultra Health prevailed in a previous lawsuit accusing the agency of overreach.

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Tax expert says there could be significant revenues in cannabis legalization, some lawmakers still skeptical

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Andy Lyman / New Mexico Political Report
Published on September 23, 2020

Comments and questions raised on Tuesday during an interim legislative tax policy committee point towards lengthy debates on recreational cannabis legalization in the upcoming legislative session in January.

Richard Anklam, the president and executive director of the New Mexico Tax Research Institute, told lawmakers that states that were early in legalizing recreational-use cannabis like Colorado, Washington, Oregon and California have seen significant tax revenue increases in the past several years. Anklam, using a study from the Tax Foundation, a national think tank, said New Mexico could see roughly $70 million in excise taxes, before factoring in gross receipts taxes, if the state legalizes cannabis for recreational use.

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