Governor-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham likes to tout the fact that she was health secretary when then-Governor Bill Richardson signed the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act into law.
At that time, only 11 other states had legalized medical marijuana. New Mexico's cannabis program seemed imperiled when Gov. Susana Martinez pledged to repeal it during her gubernatorial campaign in 2010. That never happened, but Martinez' aversion to cannabis manifested in constant battles with dispensary owners over the last eight years.
Lujan Grisham says she'll not only undo some restrictions imposed on the medical program, but is inclined to sign a bill opening up cannabis use for all adults. And the biggest dispensary owners in the state, who are poised to ramp up their medical cannabis operations for recreational customers, already have her ear.
"I'll take the advice of folks in the industry who are clear about making sure you have the opportunity to regulate," Lujan Grisham told SFR shortly before the election. "If they tell me there is a plant cap that does not limit patient access, I would undertake that. Every decision is evidence-based, I don't need to rush into any decision."
The plant cap issue may now be a moot point after the dispensary Ultra Health prevailed in a lawsuit against the Health Department over an annual producers' limit of 450 plants. On Nov. 1, Santa Fe District Court Judge David K Thomson gave the Health Department 120 days to come up with an alternative to the 450-plant cap. Lujan Grisham will be sworn in Jan. 1.
Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez says his dispensaries around the state would be ready to start selling cannabis to all adults by July, notwithstanding any new plant limits.
"I think every state that has attempted to move into adult use has either stumbled or, in fact, failed, and I think New Mexico is probably best positioned than any state to get it right," says Rodriguez, whose pro-pot attorney, Brian Egolf, is the speaker of New Mexico's House of Representatives.
A top representative for Minerva Canna, another large dispensary network, says most producers would welcome a less restrictive plant cap but are wary of new producers getting into the market. New producers might mean more competition in New Mexico's cannabis industry, which could be good for customers but might also lead to a glut of pot, a la Oregon.
"We're very much positioned to fully embrace recreational use here in New Mexico," said the Minerva representative, who did not want to be named because he feared it might affect his standing with his creditors.
Some producers voice a concern about whether the state can effectively prevent large businesses from out of state coming in and taking over the market. Ultra Health, for example, is based in Arizona and reports the most revenue of New Mexico's producers.
Carlos Gonzales, the executive director of New Mexicann Natural Medicine, says he hopes Lujan Grisham will seek input from longtime producers on this issue.
"Will there be some kind of regulations on and or looking at the amounts that are produced by each producer, or is it just someone with big money comes in and purchases all the licenses and everybody goes away and it's a monopoly?" Gonzales tells SFR.
Zeke Shortes, the owner of the Sacred Garden dispensaries, says he "feels really good" about Lujan Grisham's election. He adds that his operations need more time to scale up for a recreational market. Others he has spoken with have said the same.
"About 70 percent [of dispensaries] are in favor of recreational," Shortes guesstimates. "The 30 percent who don't want it are undercapitalized and don't feel like they can make the move without selling off part of their company or taking out high-interest loans. It's not because they don't think it's the right thing to do.
"Everyone in this state has known this was going to happen," Shortes continues, "so to be myopic and not prepared for it is kind of silly, in my mind."
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