A hearing officer has endorsed key provisions of a plan designed to shore up cannabis supplies to New Mexico’s medical marijuana program without flooding the expanding market, according to recommendations released on Friday.

State Health Department Secretary Kathyleen Kunkel now has the final say on whether to limit medical cannabis cultivation to 1,750 mature plants per producer. In recommendations released Friday, that production cap was endorsed by an official assigned to monitor public hearings in July.

Dozens of medical cannabis producers in the state are divided on whether the proposed plant limits will ensure adequate supplies to patients.

A New Mexico judge has ruled that recent changes to the regulations affecting the state’s medical marijuana program mean that out of state residents will now qualify to buy cannabis at government-run dispensaries.

“The [word] replacement is a clear sign of legislative intent to widen the reach of eligibility for the New Mexico medical cannabis program,” wrote Santa Fe Judge Bryan Biedscheid, who presided over the proceeding.

The state senator who sponsored the legislation that changed the language of the bill, Democrat Jerry Ortíz y Pino, said that the revision was originally due to a desire to cover individuals who had their medical marijuana cards in other states, or “reciprocal patients.”

Hemp industry participants in the U.S. state of New Mexico now have some regulatory clarity after the state’s Environment Department put temporary rules into effect.

The rules cover the extraction, manufacturing, processing storage and transportation of hemp and products derived from the crop.

“This temporary rule, to be in place no more than 180 days, will allow those in the hemp industry to begin operating in New Mexico and ensures the resulting products are safe for consumers while permanent regulations are developed,” said the Department late last week.

On Monday, cannabis officially become decriminalized in New Mexico, writes Calvin Hughes.

Some three months after legislation was approved by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) marijuana possession officially became decriminalized in the state this week. Individuals caught with as much as a half ounce of cannabis will now receive a $50 fine as opposed to jail time.

New Mexico is proposing new cannabis generation standards intended to shore up provisions to its therapeutic pot program without flooding the quickly extending business sector.

The Department of Health distributed a proposition Tuesday to restrain medicinal cannabis development to 1,750 develop plants for every authorized maker.

The earlier 450-plant farthest point was struck during this time in light of a claim by the state’s biggest dealer and the mother of a youngster who is dependent on cannabis oil to treat a type of epilepsy.

Juvenile seedlings shorter than 8 inches won’t check toward the breaking point so makers can explore different avenues regarding plant strains.

A state at the forefront of the U.S. opioid and drug overdose epidemic is turning to its medical marijuana program to reduce suffering from drug use and addiction.

New Mexico health officials on Thursday expanded the list of qualifying conditions for the state's medical cannabis program to include opioid use disorder, joining several other states. Other qualifying conditions that were added include Alzheimer's disease, autism spectrum disorder and three degenerative neurological disorders.

Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program grew at a fast clip in April.

The New Mexico Department of Health says patient enrollment in the cannabis program for health ailments such as cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder increased by 1,632 to 72,375 in April. That’s the equivalent of a 28% annual growth rate.

New Mexico’s largest medical marijuana seller said Monday that statewide growth in medical cannabis sales trailed far behind enrollment gains between March 2018 and March 2019.

Albuquerque-based Ultra Health says annual medical marijuana sales grew by 16%. That’s less than half the 39% growth rate for enrollment.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a pair of bills into law last week amending the state’s medical cannabis program to expand patients’ access to the plant and to provide additional legal protections.

One month after policymakers failed to pass a bill legalizing marijuana in the state, New Mexico has signed into effect a law to decriminalize cannabis. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham authorized the legislation, which will reduce the punishment for possession of up to a half ounce of weed from up to 15 days in jail to a fee of $50.

The Senate passed SB 323 in March by a vote of 30 to 8. The House took its time deliberating over some Judiciary Committee amendments, eventually approving the legislation mere hours before its session concluded.