
Big news in the medical cannabis biz: Quarterly revenue from New Mexico dispensaries hit $28 million, a 16% increase over the first quarter of 2018. The number of patients in the state also rose by 39% since last March. In fact, there’s a shortage of cannabis in New Mexico, according to surveys from the Department of Health. DOH is currently deliberating whether the state’s grow limits should be relaxed a bit.
In other news, we dug deeper into those dispensary break-ins, and the cops say they could be linked to each other. It certainly looks that way: masked guys with hammers broke into several of Santa Fe's pot shops, some on the same night, and always in the same way. They've never taken anything, but they sure busted up windows and doors. We published some stills from a security cam, so take a look at some of these dudes if you're so inclined.
SFR’s Cannabis News
Cannabis Caper MOs are similar in a string of cannabis dispensary burglaries and cops say they could be linked
Regional News
Ding dong, grab that bong
The Colorado legislature approved a bill to allow cannabis delivery earlier this month, which is wicked cool. Order a pizza, order a gram, never leave the house. Brilliant. Westword reports that medicinal deliveries can begin in 2020 and recreational deliveries the year after that.
Far Out
This isn't exactly about cannabis, but it's tangentially related and the Brief suspects this audience is interested: Denver became the first city in the country to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms. Read more about what the new rule does and does not do here.
Around the Web
CBDon’t
The Brief enjoyed this story in The Atlantic earlier this month about taking cannabidiol products on planes, and why you probably shouldn't do it. Some people have even been charged with felonies because the law isn't precisely clear on what can and can't be done. Hopefully that gets fixed and you can take your CBD oil to the skies posthaste, especially if, like the Brief, you get anxious on airplanes.
Speaking of…
Our sister paper, the Willamette Week up Portland way, put together this CBD roundup. Some of it is Portland-specific, but a lot of it is general CBD journalism that people everywhere can enjoy. This one about a "CBD bender" is particularly good, but for the more academically inclined, check out this Q&A.
Legalization Nation
Just this weekend, Politico published this story about how many states have stumbled in their efforts to legalize recreational cannabis. The story barely mentions New Mexico (boo!) but if you want a recap of why we still don't have rec in our fine state, check out the cover story we wrote about that very question.
Gimme the loot
The son of famous New York emcee Notorious BIG, CJ Wallace, is starting a new California-based company to promote the arts and creativity—and he’s doing it by selling cannabis and hemp-based products. The company, Think BIG, is also pushing for social and criminal justice. “We believe that the industry needs to take a look at sort of how do we enact social equity and social justice programs and allow for the broader audience to sort of be able to contribute in it,” co-founder Willie Mack told Yahoo Finance.