A New Mexico regulatory agency hopes to avoid a possible shortage by raising the number of marijuana plants that licensed producers could produce.

The Cannabis Control Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department last week raised the previously planned per-grower limit of 4,500 plants to 8,000, and producers also would be able to apply for incremental increases of 500 with a total cap of 10,000, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

Numerous police departments in New Mexico are the latest to lament the retirement of dogs that cannot make the distinction between cannabis—now legal in many states—and illegal drugs. The ramifications of using K9s to sniff out cannabis poses serious legal problems.

New Mexico’s adult residents can now legally possess, use and grow recreational cannabis starting Tuesday. As the law takes effect, each adult will be allowed to grow six plants or up to 12 in a household with more than one adult.

Under the Cannabis Regulation Act (CRA), legalization of personal use of cannabis comes months ahead of the complete formation of the legal industry that will eventually entail production and sales of recreational cannabis.

Purchasing and selling cannabis for adult use will not be legal until at least April 1, 2022.

Mind the gap

The gap between illicit sales and legal use is one of many unresolved issues in the state’s still-developing recreational cannabis industry.

Javier Martinez remembers the puzzled faces of a group of constituents as he pitched the legalization of marijuana over pizza dinner in Southeast New Mexico.

“The looks were like, ‘why the hell are you doing this?’” the Democratic state representative from Albuquerque recalled. It was a tough crowd including immigrants from Mexico, where the drug cartels kill thousands and profit billions from illicit marijuana exports.

His argument? If you make it legal on the U.S. side, if you regulate our growers and set clear rules for our retailers, the cartels will get stuck with their illegal crop on the Mexican side.

Earlier this month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

While advocates say it's a huge win, it could mean big losses for dispensaries in Colorado.

Since 2014, when recreational marijuana went on sale in the Centennial State, business has boomed for Colorado dispensary owners with more than $10 billion in marijuana sales and billions more reaped in tax revenue.

It has also been an economic boost for those in the tourism industry. People from around the country come to Colorado every year to consume cannabis products.

When Colorado legalized the retail sale of marijuana in 2012, savvy entrepreneurs saw an opportunity beyond setting up shop in population centers like Denver and Boulder. 

They realized if they opened cannabis businesses in small towns along the state’s borders, they could attract customers from Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, where pot remained against the law but was still plenty popular. 

“The border model was a great model,” said Josh Bleem, who lives near Fort Collins but owns CannaCo in Trinidad, one of the first dispensaries people pass as they enter Colorado on Interstate 25 from New Mexico. “We took advantage of that.”