New Mexicans will be able to buy cannabis legally in just a few months and ahead of the big day, the state has now raised the limit on the number of plants producers can grow.
“We have been listening to producers, consumers and patients who are as committed as the Cannabis Control Division is to supporting a thriving cannabis-industry in New Mexico,” wrote Kristen Thomson, the director of the Cannabis Control Division, in a news release.
“Doubling the plant count for licensed producers makes sense to ensure that everyone can maximize the benefits of a thriving cannabis industry.”
The new plant-count numbers for producers are:
Level 1: 401 – 2,000 mature cannabis plants;
Level 2: 2,001 – 6,000 mature cannabis plants;
Level 3: 6,001 – 12,000 mature cannabis plants; or
Level 4: 12,001 – 16,000 mature cannabis plants.
According to an ABC-7 report from 2021, multimillion dollar company Ultra Health was one of the biggest critics of the state’s limit on the number of plants producers could grow.
“Unfortunately, this increase may be too little, too late,” wrote a spokeswoman for Ultra Health. “Sales to adults will commence in 74 days, and it takes twice as long, 5 months, for cannabis to be fully prepared from seed to sale. We are running on a deficit to support 130,000 patients today, so to think this new rule would somehow alter the biological processes required to grow cannabis is naive, at best.”
“The state is capping the potential of the program,” said Armando Rascón, the company’s director of cultivation, in October. “Unfortunately, there will be a shortage.”
The New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department (RLD) oversees the Cannabis Control Division. The RLD Secretary told ABC-7 that New Mexico lawmakers set plant count limits to prevent a surplus of cannabis.
“What happens when you have an overflow is the market declines, the cost of cannabis drops,” said Superintendent Linda Trujillo in October. “People lose out. Their businesses suffer.”
