The cannabis business is booming in New Mexico, according to the industry’s top officials, so much so that compliance officers are struggling to keep up.
That’s according to industry leaders and state authorities who gave an update of the industry to the Economic and Rural Development Committee earlier this week.
Clay Bailey, Superintendent of the Regulation and Licensing Department, said the state has approved more than 3,000 licenses so far. There are a little more than a thousand retailers across the state with about 700 stores open for business.
The industry had generated $1.3 billion by the start of the month, according to the update. But with all this activity, Bailey told lawmakers the state has also seen more problems, like compliance issues and unlicensed supply.
“Law enforcement, they’ve got their hands full with what they’re doing, fentanyl and guns and violence and, you know, everything else,” he said. “So, it seems to sometimes not be quite at the top of the list, and it’s understandable the things they’re dealing with.”
Bailey says he’ll ask the Legislature for an additional $5 million to bolster enforcement. Right now, only 13 compliance officers handle the entire state. Colorado, for example, has nearly four times as many officers, even with fewer licenses than New Mexico.
Justin Dye, chairman of Schwazze, which owns R. Greenleaf, one of New Mexico’s largest dispensaries, pointed to a oversupply problem in Oklahoma, which he said led to a large unlicensed market there. He said the state approved too many licenses to keep up with enforcement.
“So, you know, the smaller entrepreneurs to the extent that they can’t compete, they will go down a different path to survive. We can’t have them doing that,” Dye said. “If you look at the percentage that are not paying their taxes, it’s staggering. It’s absolutely staggering, and you absolutely need to understand that.”
Bailey said the Cannabis Control Division is working on legislation to increase its authority, and a separate bill that would increase criminal penalties for unlicensed activity.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The cannabis business is booming in New Mexico, according to the industry’s top officials, so much so that compliance officers are struggling to keep up. Read More