Located roughly ten miles north of New Mexico’s border, the city of Trinidad has been seeing a boom in marijuana sales and this has been favorable for the Noah’s Ark Animal Welfare Society.
“Marijuana revenue has pretty much been our savior through some rough times, especially COVID,” Mike Valentine, Trinidad City Manager said.
“It’s been quite a transformation from buildings downtown being boarded up or just sitting vacant to now where it’s vibrant our streets are full of people,” Valentine said.
Trinidad has generated millions of dollars of revenue in the last few years since business has taken off and Noah’s Ark Animal Welfare Society has been seeing a portion of it.
Noah’s Ark has been operating in a space that includes a small building, trailer, and a shipping container but within the next year, it will operate out of a 6,000 square foot facility.
Karen Griego, a Trinidad city council member and former board member for the shelter says it’s been a need for nearly a decade.
“Before [marijuana] we tried to do this the city of Trinidad just barely had enough revenue coming in to maintain the services,” Griego said.