Rural locations being slighted, says Ultra Health

By Algernon D’Ammassa / Deming Headlight

Published on May 11, 2017

DEMING – More than half a year after the city of Deming approved a special use permit for a marijuana dispensary downtown, Ultra Health’s storefront at 117 E. Spruce remains empty. Despite an 86 percent increase in sales of medically authorized cannabis last quarter, and projected sales of $83.5 million in New Mexico this year, Deming’s dispensary has yet to open for business.

As far as the New Mexico Department of Health is concerned, it is going to stay that way.

Last September, Deming’s City Council unanimously approved a permit to the medical marijuana dispensary Top Organics, doing business as Ultra Health, which operates dispensaries in Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Clovis and Hobbs. At the time, Ultra CEO Duke Rodriguez said he expected $600,000 to $1 million in revenue from Deming in the first year.

“We are experiencing difficulty getting our rural locations accepted by the Department of Health,” said Ultra spokeswoman Marissa el

el on Thursday. “They don’t want to license us any more locations due to the plant count.”

State regulations limit a producer to 450 plants. Ultra argues that this limit cannot keep pace with the growth in approved patients for medical cannabis, which surpassed 40,000 at the end of April. Ultra argues the plant limit not only forces New Mexican patients to pay more for prescription cannabis than patients in other states, but that patients in rural areas suffer reduced access.

New Mexico Department of Health spokesman Paul Rhien stated in an email, “Ultra Health consistently asserts that it can’t meet patient needs with the current plant count requirements. On the other hand, this same licensed producer says it can sustain additional locations and meet patient needs. That doesn’t add up.” He further claimed that the producer’s amendment adding the Deming location was rejected six months ago.

“We’ve provided memos of understanding, demonstrating we can stock these locations under the plant count rule, but the DoH is dragging its feet,” said Novel. “We filed our request for Deming on June 8 of last year. Some of our locations, like Alamogordo and Silver City, have been waiting a year. A large majority of the dispensaries approved in New Mexico are in the Albuquerque area, but more than 3,000 patients don’t have a provider within their counties.”

Ultra ran into trouble with the Department of Health last year after it put a potted marijuana plant on display at the New Mexico State Fair. The Department claimed the plant was a violation of the company’s production plan and ordered all of Ultra’s dispensaries to shut down for five days in addition to a $100 fine. In April, the First District Court blocked the suspension but let the fine stand.

The lack of a Deming dispensary puts medical marijuana cardholders in Luna County in a legal bind, forcing patients to carry marijuana through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint between Deming and the nearest dispensary in Las Cruces. Under federal law, marijuana remains illegal even though state law allows medical use of marijuana. At the Interstate 10 checkpoint east of Deming, patients risk having their medicine confiscated. In 2015, Deming resident Raymundo Marrufo filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent the Border Patrol from questioning travelers about marijuana where it is legal for medical use. The case was later dismissed in federal court.

“We’ve had a lot of people emailing us and asking on social media when we are going to open this location,” said Novel. “All we can tell them is to contact the Department of Health and make a complaint.”

By Royale Da / KOAT Action News

Published on April 25, 2017

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Ultra Health a licensed medical cannabis developer and dispensary is sponsoring the Gathering of Nations. We sat down with Ultra Health’s vice president of business, Leonard Salgado.

Q: What will exactly will Ultra Health be doing at the 34th Gathering of Nations?

A: Folks will be there to pass out information like pamphlets, brochures that talk about the medicine and to talk about the program. They’ll also help people apply for a medical cannabis program if they qualify.

Q: Who do you hope to reach at this event?

A: People who have things like P.T.S.D., cancer, Parkinsons, chronic pain. There are a number of qualifying conditions and we want people to know there is an alternative to traditional medicine.

Q: How much is this sponsorship costing you?

A: Well, I can’t really disclose that but it’s a win-win situation for both parties… it could be well over hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future.

By Rachel Sapin / Albuquerque Business First

Published on April 24, 2017

Not only will this year’s Gathering of Nations take place on the new powwow grounds at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque, but for the first time, a medical cannabis producer will serve as the event’s title sponsor.

“The Gathering Of Nations Limited, a nonprofit organization accepted the sponsorship of Ultra Health, (an officially licensed cannabis grower and dispensary in the State of New Mexico, where medical cannabis is legal by New Mexico State law) for all of the positive and financial reasons as they have all other sponsors,” Gathering of Nations officials said in a statement. “Ultra Health has demonstrated the ability to provide an ever-growing medical need to all people and a potentially economic opportunity for Native American tribes within in the United States.”

Ultra Health CEO and President Duke Rodriguez said it was a natural fit for the nonprofit to support the event, and that Gathering of Nations like Ultra Health, promotes welfare and wellbeing.

“Cannabis in tribal country is likely to be the biggest economic driver and may surpass casinos,” Rodriguez said as what he sees as a future economic opportunity for Native Americans.

He said Ultra Health has been actively working with tribes who are in various stages of developing cannabis, though he said he could not disclose who those tribes are.

Ultra Health also sought to sponsor the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta but the event’s board denied Ultra Health’s sponsorship.

Gathering of Nations was estimated to have a $20 million economic impact in the metro area, with hotels, restaurants and tourism-related businesses taking in the biggest haul.

Organizers expect tens of thousands of visitors to attend this year along with more than 700 tribes from throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world. The three-day event will include more than 3,000 traditional Native American singers and dancers competing for prizes, and more than 800 Native American artisans, craftsmen and traders displaying and selling their work.

Gathering of Nations, the world’s largest gathering of Native Americans, will take place this year from April 27-29.

Ultra Health reported $4.9 million in total sales in 2016.

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Albuquerque Journal

Published on April 11, 2017

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After a medical cannabis grower displayed a seedling named Dorothy at the New Mexico State Fair last year, a state agency ordered the company to close its dispensaries for five days this month.
A Santa Fe judge this week overruled the New Mexico Department of Health sanction, ruling that the dispensaries can remain open for business from April 17-21.

DOH issued the sanction in November ordering Ultra Health LLC close its seven dispensaries that week.

First Judicial District Court Judge David Thomson of Santa Fe called Ultra Health’s decision to display a seedling at the fair “at the very best misguided,” but found little support for the five-day suspension.

“The seedling should be treated as medicine and not an item for show and tell,” Thomson wrote in an order issued Monday.

But Thomson also wrote that “the sanction imposed is excessive and without much support in law or regulation.”

Ultra Health had planned to show the seedling for 10 days at a booth the company rented at the fair, but the plant was ejected the first day, on Sept. 8, after fair officials and New Mexico State Police were notified. No arrests were made.

Health department officials told Ultra Health that removing the plant from the company’s Bernalillo production facility violated state law and regulations, which require that cannabis “be housed on secured grounds.”

Duke Rodriguez, owner and CEO of Ultra Health, said the closure coincided with “four-twenty” – the unofficial cannabis celebration on April 20 – which is the nation’s biggest sales day for cannabis.

Rodriguez estimated that the closure would have cost Ultra Health $200,000 in lost revenue had Thomson not ordered the stay.

“We’re very happy that the judge ordered this stay,” Rodriguez said. “Those are literally the five busiest days of the year.”

DOH responded Tuesday that the stay is only temporary until Thomson holds a full hearing, which had not been scheduled Tuesday.

“We feel the five-day suspension and fine is appropriate action for discipline based on the rules governing the program,” DOH spokesman Paul Rhien said in a written statement. DOH also fined Ultra Health $100, which Thomson approved.

“The primary role of the state Medical Cannabis Program is to provide patients with safe access to medicine and a regulated system,” the statement said. “We will continue to defend the sanctions as we allow the legal process to run its course.”

By Shelby Perea / Albuquerque Business First

Published on March 3, 2017 

When people think about cannabis, the imagery of smokey clouds and exhaling smoke usually comes to mind. But you won’t see any of that at this new pharmaceutical lab in Bernalillo. That’s because Ultra Health’s new facility manufactures smokeless and pre-dosed cannabis medicine.

Arizona-based Ultra Health said the lab is the first pharmaceutical cannabis production facility in the country.

Ultra Health is joining forces with Panaxia Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., an Israeli company established in 2010, to produce the medicine. Panaxia will be providing smokeless proprietary cannabinoid dosage and treatment protocols. Those protocols aren’t easily accessible in the U.S., according to a release. Ultra Health will also be implementing some of Panaxia’s technology for the new facility.

The cannabis products offered will include tablets, candy-like food, oils and patches that go through the skin.

Ultra Health CEO and President Duke Rodriguez said in a statement the new products provide a fully potent and targeted dose that is customized for each patient. Patients will have the option to get products with either THC, CBD or products with both.

“It is history in the making for an Israeli company to bring the tidings to the citizens of New Mexico,” said Panaxia CEO Dadi Segal in a statement.

Segal also said that he believes both companies will be launching additional facilities in the coming months.

Albuquerque Business First reported last year the medical marijuana was a booming industry. It became one of the few New Mexican sectors that had strong growth while New Mexico was making its way out of the Great Recession. The Medical Cannabis Program’s total industry revenues from 2015 to 2016 increased by $19.7 million, resulting in $50,638,520 and a growth of 64 percent.

By Any Lyman / The NM Political Report

Published on April 3, 2017

A New Mexico state agency and a medical cannabis company argued in a state district court Monday morning whether the state’s punishment of the company was warranted.

Santa Fe District Court Judge David Thompson heard from both the state’s Department of Health (DOH) and a lawyer representing medical cannabis producer New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health about whether the company will have to shut down retail operations for five days later this month.

The department claims Ultra Health violated the state’s medical cannabis program rules by moving a plant out of their approved growing and retail facilities and into the public.

The pending sanction is a result of a cannabis plant Ultra Health used in an exhibit at the New Mexico State Fair last September. The plant Ultra Health brought to the State Fair was non-flowering, meaning it was not mature enough to be used for consumption..

The department ordered Ultra Health to halt all sales for five days last fall, but the punishment was delayed after Ultra Health appealed the decision. Ultra Health filed a motion to stop the sanction, arguing the punishment is unjust and the company would see irreparable harm as a result. Both parties eventually argued their cases to a hearing officer.

Santa Fe attorney and New Mexico Speaker of the House Brian Egolf, a Democrat, represented Ultra Health in court on Monday. Egolf asked Thompson to reject the sanction, arguing the plant in question was not mature enough for production and that his client would see a significant loss of business, especially over the new proposed dates.

Last month, DOH secretary Lynn Gallagher ordered the company to close its doors from April 17 to April 21, which encompasses what Ultra Health calls “the biggest cannabis purchasing day of the year,” April 20, or 4/20.

The number 420 is often associated with cannabis use.

Egolf argued the punishment was comparable to businesses that violate health codes.

“It’s not like they need to shut down a restaurant because the kitchen is dirty,” he said.

Ultra Health’s clients, Egolf said, would be “disrupted in their routine” and may risk not having medicine for those five days.

DOH’s lawyer Chris Woodward said patients wouldn’t be adversely affected because there are other cannabis producers in the state.

“This is a relatively free market and patients can go wherever they want,” Woodward said.

Ultra Health’s Director of Operations Leigh Jenke testified shutting down retail operations would create a backstock of product and could cause other issues.

“There would be a storage problem and that could open us to possible safety problems,” Kenke said.

Kenny Vigil, who manages the state’s medical cannabis program, testified that Ultra Health has complained in the past that the company is on the verge of a cannabis shortage. Vigil also said the five-day shutdown is a suitable punishment for Ultra Health.

In an answer to Egolf, Vigil revealed that the punishment may be a message to other producers who think about breaking a similar rule.

Egolf asked Vigil what harm the state department may suffer if the judge decides to stop the sanction.

“It could also make other [medical cannabis] producers wonder, ‘Maybe we can get away with something,’” Vigil said.

Thompson said he would issue a ruling by the end of the week.

ULTRA HEALTH INTRODUCES PHARMACEUTICAL-GRADE OPTIONS TO CANNABIS SPACE

By Richard S. Guppe / Elevate Nevada

Published on March 7, 2017

The old axiom of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” best describes Duke Rodriguez’s vision for the future of medical cannabis. The president and CEO of Ultra Health, the largest cannabis operation in New Mexico, is utilizing long accepted delivery systems used by pharmaceutical companies and applying them to medical cannabis in his latest venture he says also will land in Nevada.

Rodriguez is partnering with an Israeli pharmaceutical company to provide the manufacturing and the research to showcase a new line of products debuting first in New Mexico, his base of operations. Israel is recognized as a key contributor of cannabis-related research while the U.S. allows only government-funded studies so it makes sense for Rodriguez to ally with progressive leaders in the cannabis field.

Rodriguez believes the key to mainstream acceptance is coat-tailing Big Pharma while bringing along solid research from Panaxia Ltd, a pro-cannabis pharmaceutical company based in Israel. “Since we established Panaxia in 2010, we constantly strive to bring the strictest protocols and most advanced technology available in the pharma industry to the production of our cannabis-based products. We believe that medical cannabis products should be developed and manufactured under the highest standards and quality assurance levels like any other pharmaceutical product,” explained Dr. Dadi Segal of Panaxia.

Following a 14-month negotiation and due diligence process between the two companies, Panaxia will be providing smokeless proprietary cannabinoid dosage and treatment protocols not readily available in the United States. The partnership will allow Ultra Health to manufacture product delivery systems that include tablets, suppositories and inhalers.

“It’s not ‘smoke two joints and call me in the morning’,” Rodriguez told elevate of the pharmaceutical-like products. “They look and feel and perform like normal products with less toxicity and side effects. They have been created in low production volume (in New Mexico) and will be more widely distributed in the middle of March.”

Beneficial to chronic conditions requiring ongoing dosing such as PTSD, chronic pain, cancers, neuropathy pain, epilepsy, anorexia, and HIV/AIDS, the new smokeless-designed cannabis products will provide better delivery systems for patients and physicians with regard to both safety and dosage.

“For the popularity to take root, you are going to have to be dose-specific and pharmaceutical,” Rodriguez explained. “Pharmacies will expect products more traditional. This will be the direction this is going.”

Ultra Health’s line of medical-grade cannabis products are exactly what pharmacies are used to and will include:

• Sublingual tablets – sublingual tablets offer faster delivery as well as more efficient bioavailability compared to other smokeless ingestion. They are available in 5- and 10-milligram dosages in 30 count packets.
• Rectal suppositories – suppositories allow for rapid absorption and less degradation of the product. This will be beneficial for patients vomiting or unable to swallow.
• Vaginal suppositories – for topical, intravaginal delivery.
• Oral spray inhalers – Inhalers are both convenient and deliver fast-acting relief. They provide a method of delivery that is dosage specific.

In addition to offering familiar delivery methods, Rodriguez said they will follow precise dosing methods, “When we say 10 milligrams of THC, we mean 10 milligrams of THC.”

The new products will also address the movement in certain states, such as New York, to require physicians to make dosage-specific recommendations.

“The use of medical cannabinoids to treat a number of illnesses requires advanced pharmaceutical-grade products,” Rodriguez said. “The further expansion of approved medical conditions will make the demand for the newly developed Panaxia products especially helpful in the treatment of anticipated conditions, including diabetes, which disproportionately effects New Mexico’s Native American and Hispanic populations, cardiovascular disease, opioid addiction and autism.” Rodriguez told elevate there are also future plans to develop a pill for Alzheimer’s patients.

Previous THC tablets offered by the pharmaceutical industry such as Marinol contain single-molecule synthetic offerings that medical cannabis advocates call limited and dangerous. Costs of synthetics are high and medical cannabis research suggests a full spectrum of cannabinoids is crucial to the healing process.

Rodriguez was in Las Vegas in February to speak to the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association and told industry participants there that recreational marijuana sales will not be the end of the medical side of the business. He also said that Nevada, with its stringent testing rules, will be a leader in the nation for how to run a program while supplying critical research to back up the claims that medical dispensing is a viable healthcare market. Research, credibility and delivery are keys to industry success, he said.

As for Ultra Health’s future in Nevada, Rodiguez said a lab will be replicated in the Las Vegas area. Nevada is a target state for Rodriguez due to its medical cannabis potential and in order to comply with state law that restricts the origin and testing of products sold in the Silver State. “A long as we have the prohibition of interstate commerce, we need a single lab in each state,” Rodriguez told elevate. “Until we develop a uniform cannabis act, we will have to be state specific.”

Even though state-specific operations are tedious, to be in multiple states is the best bet financially for cannabis businesses. It is estimated that the legal cannabis market will reach $21.8 billion in total annual sales by 2020, according to The State of Legal Marijuana Markets report compiled by Arcview Market Research last year. By comparison, at that point, the legal marijuana market could bring in more revenue than the National Football League, which produced $12 billion in 2015.

But it is not just cannabis’ potential for revenue, there’s also a growing need. “We have had numerous inquiries from dispensaries and major retail pharmacy outlets about having these products,” Rodriguez said. “It is important that we develop new products in anticipation of meeting the rapidly growing patient and provider demands.”

Considering how much Americans love taking pills, this is not just giving the people what they want but, more importantly, what they need.