New Mexico Cannabis Market

The cannabis consultants at Point Seven Group are experts in the New Mexico cannabis market. We have successfully helped our clients obtain cannabis licenses, design dispensaries, build identifiable cannabis brands, and operate compliant cannabis businesses. Our team of cannabis experts can help you reach your business goals in the New Mexico cannabis market!


WHAT IS NEW MEXICO'S CURRENT CANNABIS MARKET STATUS?

Cannabis is legal for medical and adult-use in New Mexico, with recreational sales beginning on April 1, 2022. Last year, in March of 2021, the New Mexico legislature approved House Bill 2, otherwise known as the Cannabis Regulation Act, into law. This Act legalizes and regulates adult-use cannabis for adults 21 and older. The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) announced on December 6, 2021 that the final rules for cannabis producers, manufacturers, retailers, and couriers were in effect and began accepting license applications for all cannabis business types, including cultivation, manufacturing, and retail. Applications are currently being accepted and may be filed directly through the CCD website. The state is currently not setting a limit on the number of recreational cannabis licenses that can be approved, however some local municipalities have established limitations of types of licenses as well as the number of licenses. As of January 13, 2022, New Mexico cannabis producers were permitted to cultivate double the number of plants they were previously allowed to grow after the CCD filed an emergency rule to lift the limitation. Currently, more than one hundred applications have been submitted state-wide for recreational retail cannabis licenses and as of March 2022, the CCD has issued 73 cannabis producer licenses, 10 cannabis manufacturer licenses and 63 cannabis retail licenses. During the first day of adult-use sales, the state reported $1.9 million dollars in sales.

ADULT-USE CANNABIS IN NEW MEXICO

The Cannabis Regulation Act (CRA) went into effect on June 29, 2021, making adult-use cannabis legal in New Mexico. The CRA has since created a comprehensive licensing, taxing, and regulatory enforcement structure for adult-use cannabis in the state that the Cannabis Control Division (CCD) administered on December 6, 2021, located in the Regulation and Licensing Department. The Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Committee, which announced its members on August 6, 2021, is charged with advising CCD on the development of rules covering best practices, the promotion of economic and cultural diversity in licensing and employment opportunities, and protection of public health and safety. The current law states that an individual must be 21 years of age or older to legally purchase recreational cannabis in New Mexico. Each person is allowed to purchase up to two ounces of cannabis, 16 grams of cannabis extract, and eight hundred milligrams of edible cannabis at one time. A person cannot possess more than those same amounts outside their residence. Anyone 21 or older can cultivate six mature plants and six seedlings, with a maximum of 12 mature plants per household.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NEW MEXICO

Twenty-eight medical conditions qualify patients to register for the use of medical cannabis in New Mexico. Patients are allowed to purchase from a licensed dispensary and possess up to 15 ounces over a rolling three-month period, with the possibility of a higher limit with a letter of special need from a certifying physician. Patients are also permitted to grow up to four mature plants and possess 12 immature plants. On February 22, 2022 amendments to New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) went into effect, which included an increase of adequate supply for medical patients to 15 ounces of dried flower, streamlining the patient application process by removing the requirement to submit a separate unit increase letter, and streamlined the Caregiver application with the removal of the background check to be more in-line with the Cannabis Regulation Act (CRA). The Medical Cannabis Program patient registry will continue to be maintained by the Department of Health.

OUR SERVICES IN THE NEW MEXICO CANNABIS MARKET

ADULT-USE CANNABIS MARKET PROJECTIONS IN NEW MEXICO

Up to
$0
in annual cannabis sales!

New Mexico adult-use cannabis sales totaled $5.2 million over the first weekend of recreational sales in April 2022. The new industry is projected to generate over $300 million annually in sales, create more than 11,000 jobs and bring in $50 million in state revenue the first year alone.

NEW MEXICO CANNABIS LAWS


New Mexico Cannabis Consulting
Current Licenses Operational:
Cannabis Producer 186
Cannabis Manufacturer 90
Cannabis Retailer 287
Cannabis Producer Microbusiness 198
Cultivation Licenses Pending/Approved:
Approved 256
Pending Applicant Action 50
Draft 114

New Mexico was a pioneer in the U.S. for legalizing some forms of medical cannabis in 1978 under the Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act. By 1986, 250 cancer patients had received cannabis through the Lynn Pierson Therapeutic Research Program. In April 2007, the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act was signed into law by Governor Bill Richardson, allowing cannabis for medicinal purposes to qualified patients. Initially starting with a small list of only eight qualifying conditions, the state has expanded to include 28 conditions eligible for medical marijuana. Standing out in the list is the addition of an autism spectrum diagnosis, which is currently only recognized as a condition in 17 of the 33 medical cannabis states. New Mexico joined the many states establishing criminal reformations by decriminalizing cannabis in 2019 when Governor Grisham signed Senate Bill 323. Under this law, a first-time possession offense is punishable by a $50 fine and considered a petty misdemeanor. The enactment of SB 323 also made New Mexico the first state to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia.  

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 2, known as the Cannabis Regulation Act, on April 12, 2021, making New Mexico the 18th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fifth state to do so through the legislative process rather than through a voter initiative. Under this bill, adults 21 and over may legally purchase two ounces of cannabis flower, 16 grams of cannabis extract, and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis at any one time and may personally cultivate six mature and six immature plants. Retail sales of cannabis will apply a 12% excise tax in addition to regular sales taxes. The excise tax will increase 1% each year beginning in 2025, until reaching 18% in 2030. 

NEW MEXICO HEMP LAWS

Cultivating and manufacturing hemp and hemp extracts is legal in New Mexico. As required by law, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture issues licenses to businesses and individuals cultivating hemp and The New Mexico Environment Department issues licenses to businesses and individuals for processing activities following harvest, including extraction, distillation, and manufacturing. For most of the 2021 growing season, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture accepted applications and issued both Annual and Continuous Hemp Commercial Research Production Licenses under New Mexico’s 2019 and 2020 rules and policies. New Mexico hemp growers must be aware of all regulations for hemp production in the state, including: licensing requirements, sampling, testing, and destruction of non-compliant crops/plants, which are subject to change during the 2022 growing season alongside the publication of the United States Department of Agriculture’s final hemp rule.

New Mexico Hemp Consulting