Ultra Health to receive $7.4 million refund for improperly withheld gross receipts tax

(Albuquerque) – The New Mexico Supreme Court has determined medical cannabis purchases should be treated like any other medication and not have been subject to New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax. Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, submitted an Amicus Brief to the New Mexico Supreme Court last year to demonstrate the legal basis for medical cannabis to be untaxed exactly like any other prescription in the state.

“WHEREAS, having considered the petition, response, and briefs of the parties, the judgment of the Court is that the writ shall be quashed as improvidently granted,” the New Mexico Supreme Court’s February 23, 2022, order states.

Continue reading “New Mexico Supreme Court Determines Cannabis Purchases Are Not Subject To Tax”

New Mexico’s #1 cannabis company requests insurer confirmation to eliminate cannabis cost-sharing

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, recently sent a letter to New Mexico’s prominent health insurers and New Mexico state departments to seek confirmation from insurers for cannabis coverage as a behavioral health service.

The communication is a response to a recent law that eliminated all cost-sharing and any out-of-pocket costs for behavioral health services and medications.

On January 1, 2022, Senate Bill 317 became effective to make mental and behavioral health services more affordable for New Mexicans.

The legislation expanded the definition of behavioral health services to cover several treatment options including “professional and ancillary services for the treatment, habilitation, prevention and identification of mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders and trauma spectrum disorders, including inpatient, detoxification, residential treatment, and partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient therapy, outpatient and all medications, including brand-name pharmacy drugs when generics are unavailable,” (emphasis added).

Currently, medical cannabis is a statutorily approved medication for a variety of behavioral health disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, opioid use disorder, severe anorexia, and Parkinson’s disease under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. Nearly 73,000 New Mexicans of the total 130,000 Medical Cannabis Program enrollees currently qualify for medical cannabis treatment under behavioral health diagnoses.

“Ultra Health acknowledges that the idea of health insurers paying for medical cannabis may seem novel at first blush,” the six-page letter states. “However, as Ultra Health will discuss below, it is actually a rational, reasonable notion when considered in light of other New Mexico law. New Mexico already requires workers compensation insurers to pay for medical cannabis, and New Mexico already treats medical cannabis the same as conventional prescription medications. The fact that health insurers should—and will—pay for medical cannabis is not revolutionary at this point. It is the next logical step, and it is a small step, not a giant leap.”

Insurers currently pay for medical cannabis under New Mexico’s Workers Compensation Act, which allows injured workers to use and be reimbursed for medical cannabis when deemed “reasonable and necessary care.”

Cannabis coverage is also a validated service in other countries. In Canada, insurers currently pay for medical cannabis through health benefit plans and worker benefits programs. Health insurers in Germany have paid for medical cannabis for several years. In January, Colombia mandated cannabis coverage for high and low THC medications, covering more than 50 million individuals. Some Israeli payors, including the Ministry of Defense, pay for medical cannabis coverage for service people with PTSD.

Ultra Health sent the letter to representatives from Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, Western Sky Community Care, Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, New Mexico Federation of Labor, and the New Mexico State Personnel Office.

Rogue department continues to thwart patient access despite legislators removing agency’s cannabis powers 

(Albuquerque) – The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) filed proposed rule changes to its patient purchase limit regulations on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, that will illegally tax more than 125,000 vulnerable, low-income medical cannabis purchasers despite legislative clarification in the Cannabis Regulation Act.

NMDOH asserted that patients will need to pay punitive, illegal taxes on cannabis purchases exceeding 15 ounces over a 90-day period, despite specific language in the Cannabis Regulation Act prohibiting taxes on medical cannabis purchases. In comparison, adults 21 years and older may purchase 2 ounces of cannabis, 16 grams of cannabis extract, and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis at any one time. 

Continue reading “NMDOH Proposes Rules To Illegally Tax 125,000 Medical Cannabis Patients”

New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company breaks ground on nation’s largest comprehensive cannabis processing campus 

(Alamogordo) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company with a nationwide presence, has closed on the nation’s largest comprehensive cannabis production and manufacturing campus in the nation. The purchase includes a 225,000 square foot production facility as well as 95 acres of surrounding land. 

The recently-renovated facility, a former commercial bakery, boasts ample space for production, warehousing, R&D, maintenance, and office space. It features temperature-controlled processing rooms, designated warehouses for raw materials and finished products, ceiling heights up to 24 feet, and water filtration systems. 

Continue reading “Ultra Health Closes On 225,000 Square Foot Facility, 100 Acre-Parcel In Southern New Mexico”

Judge affirms patients’ lawful right to increased purchase limits, free of additional taxes

(Albuquerque) – A New Mexico medical cannabis patient has successfully obtained an Alternative Writ of Mandamus, issued by a New Mexico District Court, that will allow him and the other 120,957 cannabis patients in the state to purchase two ounces of cannabis flower, 16 grams of cannabis extract and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis at any one time, precisely as the Cannabis Regulation Act describes. 

Although the Cannabis Regulation Act sets specific purchase limitations, the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department (RLD) has been enforcing outdated regulations that limit patient purchases to just over eight ounces in a 90 day period, far below the aforementioned statutory purchase limitations that went into effect on June 29, 2021. The issuance of the Writ will increase patient purchase limitations by 22 times the current allowance. 

Continue reading “New Mexico Judge Signs Alternative Writ of Mandamus Supporting Patient Rights”

Ultra Health suit against the New Mexico Department of Health regarding distribution locations stands

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, received a favorable ruling from the New Mexico Court of Appeals on July 22, 2021, affirming the decision made in the Thirteenth Judicial District in October 2018. 

Ultra Health filed a petition for an alternative writ of mandamus in August 2018 after the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) refused to designate the operator’s additional dispensary locations. 

Continue reading “New Mexico Court of Appeals Affirms Favorable Writ of Mandamus Ruling”

New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company and MPG Consulting forecast $783 million total cannabis market 

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, released the most comprehensive cannabis demand report for the New Mexico adult-use and medical cannabis markets seen to date. The analysis recommends more than twice the number of plants the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) has suggested for commercial cannabis cultivation. 

The report, prepared by MPG Consulting out of Denver, Colorado, estimates the total New Mexico cannabis market will reach $782.7 million by 2026 if regulations supporting a robust cannabis market are promulgated.

The extensive analysis outlines several cannabis market demand factors including market sizing, cannabis use trends, cannabis price trends, market dynamics, illicit and regulated market share, plant count allocations, average yields per plant harvested, harvest cycles, production control systems in other states, license distribution in other states, and New Mexico-specific recommendations.

Continue reading “Ultra Health and Leading Cannabis Consulting Firm Release Demand Report”

New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company submits brief in monumental case that will shape cannabis policy

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, submitted an Amicus Brief to the New Mexico Supreme Court on June 18, 2021, demonstrating the legal basis for medical cannabis to be taxed exactly like any other prescription medication in the state.

The brief was submitted in support of another licensed cannabis producer’s case that is now pending before the Supreme Court. The producer requested a refund in 2014 for New Mexico gross receipts taxes paid on medical cannabis, claiming medical cannabis should be untaxed and treated like any other prescription in the state. The New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department (TRD) denied the claim, as did a Hearing Officer in an internal administrative proceeding. The cannabis producer appealed the Hearing Officer’s ruling to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.  

Continue reading “Ultra Health Files Brief on Cannabis Taxation Case Before the Supreme Court”

New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company expands infrastructure, operations to prepare for adult-use cannabis

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, has officially broken ground on multiple capital expansion projects in New Mexico to ready the state for the onset of commercial cannabis activity under the Cannabis Regulation Act, effective June 29, 2021.

The provider has multiple contracts in place to expand retail, production, manufacturing, and distribution operations to several regions across the Land of Enchantment, including operations in Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, Socorro County, and Otero County. Ultra Health’s retail presence will span 28 of New Mexico’s 33 counties by the end of 2021.

Continue reading “Ultra Health Deploys Capital Expansion Projects in Several Regions Across the State”

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”