Medical cannabis grower faces stiff punishment for educational booth at Expo New Mexico

By Peter St. Cyr / Santa Fe Reporter

Published on November 3, 2016

The decision to exhibit a live cannabis plant at the State Fair earned New Mexico’s top-selling medical cannabis provider a hefty punishment from the Department of Health.

State officials ordered Ultra Health to suspend sales at all six of its dispensaries in New Mexico for five consecutive days and pay a $100 fine as punishment for displaying a single seedling at the New Mexico State Fair in early September.

Kenny Vigil, the director of New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program, issued the disciplinary action eight days after fair officials asked the firm to remove a 21-day old nonflowering marijuana plant from their preapproved visitor’s booth.

State Fair officials admit they overlooked a plan Ultra Health submitted describing their intention to display the plant to educate the public about medical cannabis before they signed an exhibit contract, which specifically prohibits displaying drug related merchandise or paraphernalia, with the firm.Public records show that on the first day of the event, Larry C Trujillo, a director of fair security, and New Mexico State Police Lieutenant David Ben Romero checked with then-medical cannabis program compliance manager Ken Groggel. He determined that Ultra Health violated a program rule that prohibits cannabis production to be in view of the public when it moved the plant from its greenhouse to the fairgrounds.

By Megan Rubio / DOPE Magazine

Published on September 21, 2016

Native American tribes are often recognized for their success within the casino business and the tobacco industry. Over the past decade, as cannabis has become more accepted as a medical treatment, the industry has grown exponentially. In some places, where legal recreational cannabis use exists, there have been fears of the market flooding with all of the products being produced. The involvement of Native American tribes in the cannabis industry could very well allow legal cannabis to reach untapped markets and speed up the legalization movement.

One company, Ultra Health, is currently working with the Paiute Tribe in Las Vegas on two dispensaries and a cultivation facility. Ultra Health is headquartered in Arizona, providing business solutions in New Mexico and Nevada as well. One of the main goals of Ultra Health is to expand the influence of Native American tribes on the cannabis market.

Duke Rodriguez, the CEO of Ultra Health, explains that their company is looking to create business solutions and opportunities within the cannabis business from a healthcare perspective. Prior to entering the cannabis industry, Rodriguez gained experience with healthcare systems while operating as a cabinet member within the Human Services Department, as appointed by former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico. He explained that his motivations for pursuing collaboration with native tribes were due in part to the many interactions and services provided to tribal nations during his work with the healthcare systems in New Mexico.

Rodriguez can go into detail about the advantage that native tribes would have within the industry. The US government recognizes native tribes as their own sovereign nations. These sovereign nations have latitude when it comes to creating laws within their lands. Whether a state has legalized medical or recreational cannabis, those laws do not bind native tribes. They can create whatever laws suit them when they are on their land. All that the government asks is that the tribes come up with a regulatory model for production and sales. Ideally, the models would be based off of the systems within states that have legalized.

All things considered, Rodriguez confirmed that it would be possible for nations that live in states with no marijuana legislation to build regulations and markets within those states. Through meetings with a number of attorney generals, Rodriguez quickly realized that the attorney generals within the states were far more likely to be supportive of cannabis markets on tribal lands as long as markets existed within the state. It’s obvious that Rodriguez is excited about the future of native tribes and the cannabis business. He explained that since the tribes have certain independence, they will be able to pick and choose which parts of the cannabis industry in which they want to engage. In a way, they will have more freedom than any other businesses within the cannabis field.

As work progresses on the projects with the Paiute Tribe in Las Vegas, Rodriguez explained how reciprocity would be instrumental in the future success of the business. States with reciprocity recognize the legitimacy of out-of-state medical cards, allowing for a medical marijuana patient from New Mexico to buy medical marijuana in Nevada, for instance. While Nevada is not the only state that allows for reciprocity, they have the most expansive and user-friendly policies.

Rodriguez makes it clear that it’s Ultra Health’s goal to first empower tribal nations in states where medical or recreational marijuana exists. He believes that tribes have a unique amount of freedom to create a new network of cannabis businesses and revolutionize the industry as we currently know it. Ultra Health’s dedication to relationships with native tribes was only made more evident when they signed up to be the primary sponsor for the Gathering of Nations Powwow. Ultra Health is the first medical cannabis company to sponsor such an event. Rodriguez described the Gathering of Nations as the “Super Bowl of powwows,” where the main focus is participating in the spiritual and social celebrations. While expanding the influence of native tribes is one priority of the company, Ultra Health is also dedicated to a vision of providing professional, quality healthcare.

Rodriguez is clearly passionate about the work Ultra Health does. Describing himself as a “healthcare junkie,” the company is modeled to be heavily steeped in medicine. Even while pursuing opportunities with tribal nations, Ultra Health is always aspiring towards something new. They recently established a relationship with a pharmaceutical company based out of Israel. It’s another goal of Rodriguez’s to bring more products to the cannabis industry that are typically traditional in the pharmaceutical industry. In partnership with native tribes, he sees a vision for the future aimed at expanding and legitimizing the cannabis industry as a healthcare solution provider.

By Marissa Higdon / Albuquerque Business First 

Published on September 21, 2016

A new report, commissioned by medical marijuana producer Ultra Health, found that, if marijuana is legalized for recreational use in New Mexico, the industry could bring in $412.5 million in annual revenue in the first year and $677.7 million five years after legalization.

The report estimates that more than 40 percent of this new revenue would come from out-of-state tourists who buy marijuana while visiting New Mexico, and the rest would mostly come from individuals who currently use cannabis illegally. Kelly O’Donnell, of O’Donnell Economics and Strategy, authored the report. According to the organization’s website, she worked in former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration in a number of positions, including as director of state tax policy. Her report found that legalizing medical cannabis would create 11,400 new jobs in the state in the first year. The Drug Policy Alliance and the Rio Grande Foundation joined industry advocates in providing support for the report’s creation.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, there are almost 27,000 patients with medical cannabis cards, meaning there are currently almost 27,000 people with the ability to consume cannabis legally, under restrictions. The report estimates that 138,000 people over 21 in New Mexico use cannabis illegally, and 48,000 of those people use it daily. If all of these people were able to legally obtain cannabis, the report estimates that they would consume 57.3 metric tons of it. The report says 6.3 metric tons is currently produced in the state.

A lot of the data O’Donnell points to comes from Washington and Colorado.

Forbes reports that Colorado’s cannabis industry brought in $996.2 million in revenue in 2015, but, since its inception, the Colorado cannabis industry has been larger than New Mexico’s. Right before legalization, which occurred in January 2014 , Colorado had 221 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, 112,862 medical cannabis card holders and producers generated $185 million in revenue in 2012. In comparison, New Mexico has 35 licensed producers, 27,000 card holders and producers have brought in $21.5 million in revenue so far this year.

By Layla Halabian / VICE

Published on September 16, 2016

North of Las Vegas’s bustling, fluorescent strip sits the Paiute Nation tribe. Like many other Native American tribes across the United States, they’ve suffered from and struggled with poverty, depression, and alcoholism. With dwindling numbers—only 56 adult members currently remain as a result of blood quantum laws—the Paiutes are facing the reality of losing their culture forever.

As detailed on last week’s episode of VICELAND’s Weediquette, the Las Vegas Paiute Smoke Shop is the lifeblood of the Paiutes, providing the reservation with 85 to 90 percent of its revenue. With the tribe’s fragile economic stability threatening to buckle, tribal leaders are searching for new ways to utilize the smoke shop for a desperately needed revenue boost.

Enter Duke Rodriguez, founder and CEO of the Arizona-based medical cannabis company Ultra Health. Before founding the company, Rodriguez oscillated between positions in government and healthcare, making him the ideal candidate for the booming medical cannabis industry. “You need to have a medical background to communicate with the Department of Health Services,” he tells me over the phone. “You have to understand about dispensing and how clinics operate.”

Founded in Arizona in 2011, Ultra Health assisted those who won licenses for medical cannabis to establish the state’s first dispensaries and cultivation facilities. It didn’t take long for Rodriguez to realize that tribes like the Paiutes were ripe for the benefits—and astronomical profits—cannabis could provide. With the lofty goal of harvesting 18,000 plants every three months to generate more than $100 million in revenue, those numbers are exactly what the tribe needs to end the financial decay that threatens their existence—and traceability systems to monitor cannabis growth ensure that those profits stay within the tribe and out of the federal government’s hands.

We spoke to Rodriguez about Ultra Health, cannabis’s distorted history within the United States, and the plant’s potential to empower the country’s sovereign nations in operating their own forms of trade both with and separately from the United States government.

VICE: How did you establish yourself in the cannabis community?
Duke Rodriguez: Cannabis [use] in states like Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado all started as medical programs. They weren’t recreational. So from day one, we’ve focused on medical cannabis.

Does Ultra Health work on legislative efforts toward wider cannabis legalization?
Without a question, yes. In New Mexico, we supported legislation that got to their senate floor earlier this year. We produced studies, did surveys, presented to legislators, and contributed to politicians. There’s no question that we’re actively and politically engaged.

What made you so passionate about cannabis?
We all had some exposure in college—we inhaled and experienced it. Once you begin to understand the pejorative nature of marijuana, though, you really understand the medical value of cannabis. Most Americans tend to believe marijuana and cannabis are the same, but that’s not true. It’s somewhat ignorant to call it marijuana—no offense, but it is.

How did the term “marijuana” come to be widely used?
Around the world, no one uses the word “marijuana.” It’s not a scientific term—there’s no plant in the world called “marijuana.” The genus is cannabis. In the 1930s, Harry Anslinger was the former deputy of the Department of Revenue for alcohol; prohibition had ended, and he faced an elimination of one-third of his entire agency, so they found a new boogeyman. Cannabis was 100 percent legal at the time, and they didn’t go after the other products that were legal at the time—opium, cocaine—because they didn’t want to target the majority white population. So they came for cannabis, which was actively and safely used by minorities—particularly Latinos, blacks, and Native Americans. Anslinger needed something to scare people, so he came up with the phrase “marijuana.” That’s all it is. There’s no science behind it. Understanding history makes you never want to use the word “marijuana” again. It’s very offensive.

What drew you to working with Native American tribes?
We recognized from day one that if anybody’s going to positively utilize cannabis in this country, it’s native people. They have many competitive advantages—they own land, they have water and access to power, and they have a historical and cultural tie to cannabis and natural healing. They also have a distribution network—smoke shops, reservations, and casinos across the country. It’s clear that cannabis will bring what casinos originally did for tribes to the next level. We started communicating with and educating tribes across the country. It’s a long process.

How long?
We worked with the Paiute for more than two years. You have to overcome 85 years of prohibition—of being told “just say no,” of the tribe not having economic independence, and of their sovereignty being violated. It’s not an easy process for them to overcome, and they’re doubtful sometimes. They wonder what’s really in it for them—is this going to be another venture taking advantage of the tribe?

How far have you come with the Paiute tribe’s medical cannabis effort?
We’ve successfully broken ground on their main street, and we’re actually building what is likely to be the single largest cultivation facility in the United States, as well as the single largest Native American venture into cannabis. It’s being watched by everyone from federal authorities, to other tribes, to the state of Nevada. By late fall of 2016, there will be plants cultivated on Native American land, and we hope to have a firm opening this coming January.

The Weediquette episode addresses how other tribes’ attempts at growing medical cannabis have failed. How are the Paiutes’ efforts different?
There’s always the potential of the feds coming in—they’ll never be able to seize the property because it belongs to the sovereign nation, but they could potentially arrest individuals, including myself. But the Department of Justice has been very clear: If you operate within the state’s rules, and your system is “robust and compliant,” you don’t have to anticipate that the feds will step in. The biggest problem is the potential for the product to end up in the black market—but we’ve been transparent. This is a relationship between the federal government and the tribe, not the tribe and the state. If we respect the rules of the federal government, the federal government will respect the role of the sovereign nation.

We’ll continue to invest ourselves and our efforts in partnering with tribes across this country. We’ve already made that model quite visible in Nevada—it’s brought the interest of many tribes across the country who have made the pilgrimage to Las Vegas to see what the Paiutes have done there. Most of them are walking away not only impressed, but also contemplating what it could do for their people.

Over time, a good majority of the 600 tribes across the country will at some point be actively engaged in cannabis. Whether tribes will be able to move projects from tribal nation to tribal nation unfettered will be the game changer. Imagine the powerful logistic system the tribes will have when that happens. These are separate governments, and their relationship is not with the state—their treaties are between that tribal nation and the United States government, and every one of these tribes has a right to enter into relationships with the United States government, and other tribes, and to have trade with those tribes uninterrupted by the United States government.

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.”

By Colleen Heild / Albuquerque Journal

Published on September 8, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “Dorothy,” a 3-week-old female medical cannabis plant, made her debut at the opening day of the New Mexico State Fair on Thursday but was booted out before the day’s end.

The plant was on display at a booth paid for by New Mexico Top Organics — Ultra Health LLC.

Her presence was advertised in a company press release as only the second time a cannabis plant has made an appearance at a state fair in the United States, given that marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and is authorized in New Mexico for certain medical conditions.

“We hope that the fair will raise the profile of medical cannabis as an agricultural asset in New Mexico, similar to the Hatch green chile, pecans and piñon nuts,” Duke Rodriguez, CEO of Ultra Health, one of the state’s 35 licensed medical marijuana producers, said in the press release.

But after Ultra Health set up the booth, a State Fair manager told Rodriguez that “there has been a huge mistake” and asked him to remove the plant, together with printed materials that contained images of cannabis plants, Rodriguez said in a phone interview late Thursday. Initially, State Fair personnel agreed to let the booth remain through the end of the day.

But a State Police officer later approached Rodriguez and said he needed to remove the plant and other items immediately, he said.

Ultra Health had signed a contract with the New Mexico State Fair and paid a $2,000 fee for a booth, Rodriguez said. “We disclosed the items that would be there, including a plant,” he said.

David Morgan, public information officer for the state Department of Health, said the department plans to investigate because the production of medical cannabis is supposed to occur in a secure facility approved by the state.

“We are looking into the matter and will take appropriate action, which can include suspending their business operation or other disciplinary action,” Morgan said in an email to the Journal.

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Albuquerque Journal

Published on September 1, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Duke Rodriguez’s plan to build a statewide chain of cannabis retail stores has hit a snag.

Rodriguez, owner of Ultra Health LLC, contends that state regulators have slow-tracked his request to open at least 14 new stores, most located in communities that now lack dispensaries.

“We’re just caught in this limbo with no formal response,” Rodriguez said this week. “We have met every single request that they have presented, including evidence that we were able to secure product.”

Ultra Health, which operates a medical cannabis growing site in Bernalillo, has purchased cannabis from two other producers, and has agreements to buy from four others, he said.

Ultra Health, which now operates six dispensaries in four cities, submitted requests in May, June and July for additional dispensaries in 13 cities.

Most are located in communities with no existing cannabis retailers, including Silver City, Deming, Carlsbad, Socorro, Truth or Consequences, Truth or Consequences, and Bernalillo County’s South Valley.

The New Mexico Department of Health this week denied that it has delayed Ultra Health’s requests, saying the agency “carefully reviews and evaluates” applications for new dispensaries.

Ultra Health’s applications are among 18 requests for new dispensary locations now under review, DOH spokesman David Morgan said in a written statement.

The agency’s concerns about Ultra Health’s expansion center on the issue of adequate supply, according to an email sent by the DOH to Ultra Health officials.

“Your amendments for additional dispensaries center on one issue, adequate supply,” according to the July 22 email, which Rodriguez provided to the Journal.

DOH last year increased the number of cannabis plants producers can grow to a maximum 450 plants, up from the previous cap of 150.

Because of the 450 plant maximum, “it would be extremely difficult, even under optimal conditions and an ideal production cycle, to adequately serve the needs of even six dispensaries with that plant count,” the email said.

Rodriguez said he subsequently provided DOH with agreement letters with six other cannabis producers that he said show that Ultra Health could obtain adequate supplies.

To date, Ultra Health has purchased a total of 22 pounds of cannabis from two other New Mexico producers, he said. Rodriguez declined to identify his suppliers.

Ultra Health and a cannabis patient filed a lawsuit against DOH last month alleging that the 450 plant maximum has created “a dire situation” for medically fragile patients who can’t find the products they need.

State records show that since June 2012, plant production has increased 174 percent through June 30, but the number of cardholders increased 280 percent to 26,568 in the same four-year period.