Combined Cannabis sales in New Mexico reach $1B
Combined sales grow in large and small communities too.
Combined cannabis sales in New Mexico topped $1 billion in New Mexico in February as the two-year anniversary of legal adult-use cannabis sales in the state approaches.
In a news release, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the numbers were a huge milestone for the cannabis industry.
“Nearly two years after beginning sales, New Mexico is on the map as a premier hub for legal and safe cannabis and the thriving business community that comes with it,” she said in the news release.
Cannabis consumers in New Mexico have purchased more than $678 million worth of adult-use cannabis products and $331 million in medical products since April 1, 2022, stated the news release.
Adult-use cannabis in New Mexico became legal on April 12, 2021 when the governor signed the Cannabis Regulation Act, which legalized cultivation, manufacturing, purchasing, possession and consumption of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older.
The act also combined adult-use and medical use cannabis into one group administered by the Cannabis Control Division (CCD).
To date, the state has recorded more than 21 million transactions with $75 million in cannabis excise taxes going to the state general fund and local communities, read the news release.
A breakdown of sales in some New Mexico communities
Albuquerque remains the top city for combined sales with $202 million sold in February of this year, according to data from the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (NMRLD).
In May of 2022, one month after adult sales were legal, New Mexico’s largest city had $14 in combined in sales, noted NMRLD.
Last month combined sales were $73 million in Las Cruces. Nearly two years before in May of 2022, Las Cruces had $3.3 million in sales.
Combined sales in Carlsbad increased from $1 million in May 2022 to $30 million last month.
Combined use sales in Alamogordo rose during May 2022 to February 2024 time frame from $1 million to $24 million.
Sales in Farmington increased from $640,00 in May 2022 to $24 million last month, according to data from the Cannabis Reporting Online Portal (CROP).
Artesia, located north of Carlsbad, did not register any cannabis sales in May 2022, per CROP figures.
The community’s lone cannabis retail outlet, Pecos Valley Production, opened in September 2022 and reported $4.1 million in combined sales last month, read CROP data.
In the news release, Lujan Grisham said smaller communities across New Mexico were reaping the benefits of the flourishing cannabis industry.
Producer and retailer sees sales as mixed
Bob Boylan, chief executive officer (CEO) of Verve Health Shop and Roadrunner Manufacturing in Edgewood, east of Albuquerque, viewed the $1 billion in sales as positive for businesses like his.
He said the state needs to help local businesses from out-of-state competitors who bring in products not made in the state.
“(They) have a deeper war chest,” Boylan said of business interests not located in New Mexico.
“Micro producers need to be embraced like New Mexico True (tourism department campaign) where the local consumer can differentiate from New Mexico owned and out-of-state,” he said.
Boylan said Verve Health Shop and Roadrunner Manufacturing is vertically integrated.
“The vertically integrated cannabis establishment license permits the licensee to conduct the cannabis activities authorized to couriers, retailers, producers, and manufacturers in the state,” stated the New Mexico State Cannabis website.
Boylan said business was good as his companies cater to older individuals.
As of March 1, the State of New Mexico issued 2,873 cannabis licenses.
More than 1,000 were retailers, 878 were manufacturers and 459 were micro producers, according to the governor’s office.
