Patient enrollments are now comparable yet substantial differences in plant count and patient access remain

(Albuquerque) – For the first time since New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program was enacted, patient enrollment in the state has outpaced neighboring Colorado’s patient participation. 

Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program officially reached 82,147 patients, according to recent data released by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). Enrollment in Colorado’s medical cannabis program reached 81,893 as of February 29, 2020.  Continue reading “New Mexico Medical Cannabis Enrollment Exceeds Colorado For the First Time”

Historical export and import of low-THC, high-CBD medicine marks beginning of global trade relationship

(Albuquerque) –  Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company with a nationwide presence, successfully exported low-THC, high-CBD cannabis medicine to Israel last week through its strategic partnership with Israeli pharmaceutical group Panaxia. Ultra Health is the first-ever commercial United States cannabis company to export cannabis extracts to Israel.

The high-CBD medicine was created from extracting New Mexico-produced hemp in Bernalillo, New Mexico after Ultra Health and Panaxia US received hemp extraction and manufacturing permits from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). Ultra Health is also a recipient of two continuous hemp commercial research production licenses from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

After being successfully imported into Israel via a permit from the Israel Ministry of Health, Panaxia plans to make the high-CBD medicines available to patients suffering from epilepsy or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many of whom are children. The first suite of products will include sublingual tablets, oral tablets, and sublingual drops, with future expansion plans to include inhalable products, ointments, and creams.

Upon the successful import of the high-CBD medicines to Israel, Ultra Health agreed to purchase another 1,000 pounds of New Mexico-produced hemp to begin expanding further production and export.

“We are pleased to be able to extend care to our patients in Israeli who are in acute need of this kind of medicinal cannabis care,” said Dr. Dadi Segal, Panaxia CEO. “Panaxia’s superb R&D capabilities combined with the added value of a high-quality strategic company such as Ultra Health prove themselves time and again, especially with regard to the high quality of the products and stringent regulatory compliance.”

“We are grateful to the New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, who had a key role in making all of this happen,” said Duke Rodriguez, CEO, and President of Ultra Health®. “I look forward to the continued success of the Ultra Health and Panaxia partnership that has proven to greatly enhance both entities’ abilities to innovate the cannabis industry on a global scale.”

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About Ultra Health: 

Ultra Health is New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company and the largest vertically integrated medical cannabis provider in the United States. The provider currently operates 20 dispensary locations statewide, with another 10 stores slated to open by the second quarter of 2020. Ultra Health provides unparalleled medical cannabis care by producing accurately dosed, smokeless cannabis products such as sublingual tablets, oils, pastilles, suppositories and more through its partnership with Israeli pharmaceutical group Panaxia. Ultra Health has been at the forefront of patient-rights issues and continues to fight for adequate supply and rural access in the New Mexico medical cannabis market. 

About Panaxia: 

Panaxia is currently the largest Israeli manufacturer and home-delivery distributor of medical cannabis products in Israel, and the first to have received the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Health for the manufacture of medical cannabis-based drugs (under the IMC-GMP directive). Panaxia is part of the Segal Pharma Group, founded over forty years ago and owned by the Segal family. The company manufactures over 600 different pharmaceutical products distributed in over forty countries worldwide. Panaxia US manufactures over 60 medical hemp and cannabis-based products in North America, including sublingual tablets, oral tablets, oils, and inhalers aimed for the treatment of conditions such as PTSD, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, anorexia, burns, and many other ailments. Panaxia has over 150 employees, and all of the clinical trials are led by group employees. The Segal Pharma Group additionally owns Luminera Derm, manufacturer of injectable dermal fillers, and Tree of Life Pharma, manufacturer of over-the-counter drugs. For more information, visit the Panaxia website at: https://panaxia.co.il/

Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, successfully opens nine locations in 12-month period

(Albuquerque) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company with an international presence, opened its 20th New Mexico dispensary location today in Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights neighborhood. 

Continue reading “New Mexico Medical Cannabis Provider Opens 20th Dispensary Location.”

100+ nonresident patients issued three-year cards in first full month since Judge’s ruling 

(Albuquerque) – Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program reached 78,362 patients as of October 31, 2019, according to data compiled by Ultra Health® and released by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). October’s enrollment represents an increase of 25% over patient participation in October 2018. 

A total of 130 patients who reside outside of New Mexico have been issued three-year patient cards that allow them to purchase medical cannabis while in the state. The out-of-state enrollment increased by 118 patients during the month of October alone. 

Continue reading “New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program Sees Dramatic Increase in Out-of-State Enrollees”

New Mexico cannabis program open to nonresidents, Texans begin applying for cannabis care

(El Paso) – The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has begun issuing three-year medical cannabis cards to nonresidents, a majority of which are from Texas. New Mexico is the only state that allows nonresidents to participate in its Medical Cannabis Program, marking the first time a state has recognized the need for continuity and portability for medical cannabis care.

Prospective patients must be seen by a New Mexico practitioner and certified as having one of the state’s 28 qualifying conditions. There is no fee to the state to receive a three-year card, and cards are mailed to qualified patients within 30 days of the submission of the application.

Continue reading “El Paso NORML Director Among First Texans To Get New Mexico Cannabis Card”

Nonresident enrollment expected to surpass tens of thousands of patients over the next year

(Albuquerque) – Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program reached 77,168 patients as of September 30, 2019, according to data released by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). September’s numbers represent a 31% increase over enrollment in September 2018.

The newest addition to the patient statistics report is an “Out of State” category, in which 12 patients are listed. The issuance of three-year patient registry cards to out-of-state participants comes after Santa Fe District Court Judge Bryan Biedschied ordered NMDOH to comply with the new statutory language and accept nonresident patients into the program.

The New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program is the first medical cannabis program in the country to allow nonresidents to receive three-year cards and purchase medical cannabis while in the state.

Continue reading “First dozen out-of-state patients accepted into New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program”

Collected fees increase by 30%, while one-third of total plants go unsubscribed due to higher fees 

(Albuquerque) – The 34 licensed cannabis producers in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program paid $3.8 million in plant fees to the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) for the 2019-2020 period by October 4, 2019. This represents an increase of 30% from the fees collected during the 2018-2019 period, even with one less licensed cannabis producer. 

Of the total 59,500 plants available under the newly promulgated 1,750 plant cap per producer, 20,000 plants went unsubscribed due to the substantial fee increase to grow the maximum number of plants. 

Compared to last year’s fee schedule, 18 producers saw plant fee increases of up to 100%. These top producers were responsible for $1.3 million of additional plant fees collected compared to the 2018-2019 period, when total cannabis producer fees totaled $2.9 million.  Continue reading “New Mexico Cannabis Producers Pay $3.8 million in Plant Fees by Deadline”

New plant cap regulation continues to be arbitrary and capricious, violates previous court order 

(Santa Fe) – Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, and two other medical cannabis producers filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) on Thursday over the newly-promulgated plant count regulation. The case has been assigned to Santa Fe District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew.

NMDOH promulgated the new plant cap, a maximum of 1,750 plants each for 34 producers, earlier this year after a court order struck the former limit of 450 plants per producer. The former cap was found to be arbitrary, capricious, and frustrated the purpose of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. 

“Further any plant count, and certainly the 450 plant count, it may not be simply based on outdated and unrelated data in such a manner and means as to violate the Legislature’s directive to provide an adequate supply,” Santa Fe District Court Judge David K. Thomson said in his November 2018 ruling.

The court order required NMDOH to create a plant count regulation that complies with the definition of adequate supply. 

“While it may be true that DOH was delegated the authority to regulate the system of distribution of medical marijuana in this State, it may not create its own arbitrary production number that does not have reasonable nexus in law or fact to adequate supply for patients in the program,” Judge Thompson stated. 

NMDOH failed to conduct the rulemaking according to the standards set out in Thomson’s order and did not provide any factual calculations, reports, or data tables to explain how the 1,750 cap would provide an adequate supply for patients. The only materials NMDOH claimed to support 1,750 plants per producer are riddled with logical holes, unrepresentative data, inferential leaps, contradictions, and poor math. 

The department also failed to promulgate a plant cap regulation that provides for an adequate supply in light of the changes made to the medical cannabis legislation that was signed into law in April. Changes to the law that will require more plant material for patients include nonresident participation in the program, reciprocity, the elimination of the 70% potency cap on concentrates, telemedicine, and the extension to three-year cards. 

Other burgeoning issues that will limit an adequate supply of cannabis statewide include; rapid, year over year growth in enrollment; the need for higher patient purchase limits; the diversification of new cannabis medicines; new qualifying conditions such as opioid use disorder; and the legalization of cannabis for adult-use, an initiative assigned to the 2020 Legislative agenda by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. 

Under the 1,750 cap, New Mexico has the most-strict cannabis production regulations of any other state with legalized medical cannabis. Neighboring states such as Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Oklahoma do not limit the number of plants a producer may cultivate for medical patients. 

Since the initial plant count lawsuit was filed in August 2016, enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program has nearly tripled growing from 26,658 patients as of June 30, 2016, to 77,144 patients as of August 31, 2019.

After a recent ruling allowing nonresidents to receive three-year patient registry cards, enrollment is expected to be anywhere from 100,000 to 150,000 total cardholders in the next year. 

The program currently has a robust distribution network of 100 stores statewide, yet the available medicine at each dispensary location is more limited now than when the plant cap lawsuit was originally filed in August 2016. 

Ultra Health triggers nationwide cannabis reform with ruling to allow three-year cards for nonresidents

(Santa Fe) – Santa Fe District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid affirmed a Permanent Writ of Mandamus court order on Monday, officially eliminating the residency requirement to participate in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program. 

Previously, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) refused to issue medical cannabis cards to nonresidents due to a possible stay or reconsideration on the issue, despite the judge’s final order to allow nonresidents into the program. Judge Biedscheid denied the respondents’ motions for reconsideration and denied the request to stay the court’s order.

“[The Permanent Writ of Mandamus] is applicable to everyone. I think the law is clear.” Judge Biedscheid stated in the courtroom. “I look to the language of that statute first and foremost to determine legislative intent,” he continued.

Continue reading “Judge Orders Agency to Let Nonresidents Into New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program”