News & Blog

News & Blog

New Mexico Supreme Court Determines Cannabis Purchases Are Not Subject To Tax

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.

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Ultra Health Initiates Cannabis Coverage For Behavioral Health Services

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.


Countdown: New Mexico Adult-Use Cannabis Sales To Begin In 100 Days

Adults 21 and older may purchase cannabis on April 1, 2022, yet licensing and supply constraints remain

(Albuquerque) – New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis sales will officially commence in 100 days. The enabling legislation, the Cannabis Regulation Act, allows all adults 21 years and older to purchase two ounces of cannabis flower, 16 grams of cannabis extract, and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis at any one time, no later than April 1, 2022.

Despite the rapid approach of the April deadline, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) has yet to license enough cannabis producers to meet demand. To date, RLD has licensed just eight additional operators beyond the 34 legacy medical cannabis licensees, according to information published on RLD’s licensing portal.

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NMDOH Proposes Rules To Illegally Tax 125,000 Medical Cannabis Patients

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. 

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

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. 

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New Mexico Judge Signs Alternative Writ of Mandamus Supporting Patient Rights

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. 

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New Mexico Court of Appeals Affirms Favorable Writ of Mandamus Ruling

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. 

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Legal cannabis advocate celebrates win in New Mexico

Robert Nott / Santa Fe New Mexican
Published on April 3, 2021

At 62, Duke Rodriguez is still running.

Not like he did in high school some 45 years ago, but as president and CEO of New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health, the state’s largest medical cannabis operation with annual sales in the $40 million range.

The business, which has 25 facilities around the state, employs about 250 people. And Rodriguez — who has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into state legislative races to support cannabis-friendly lawmakers — plans to move into the retail cannabis business as soon as possible.

 

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Ultra Health and Leading Cannabis Consulting Firm Release Demand Report

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.

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