Recreational cannabis sales kicked off in New Mexico on April 1st with a blazing success. Cannabis dispensaries across the state of New Mexico welcomed recreational cannabis customers 21 years and older into their stores for the first time. Medical cannabis is legal in New Mexico, but April 1st marked the very first day stores were allowed to start making sales to the public for recreational cannabis. Lines were long and people were excited. Dispensary employees handed out popsicles and water to customers waiting outside in line.
Some people said they waited as long as 2 hours in line to purchase recreational cannabis. In New Mexico, cannabis dispensaries are required to maintain between 10%-25% of their inventory for medical cannabis patients only. There has been a lot of preparation gearing up for the demand for recreational cannabis and the state saw great success with the launch of its recreational cannabis program. Some cannabis dispensaries opened at midnight on Friday to the delight of customers.
As of 8:00 p.m. on April 1st of 2022, just 20 hours after opening for recreational cannabis sales, the Cannabis Control Division in New Mexico had reported profits of almost $1.9 million in recreational sales and $760,000 in medical sales. There were over 40,000 purchases for adult-use recreational cannabis within the first 20 hours of sales in New Mexico alone. Despite long lines and wait times, patrons of recreational cannabis dispensaries were in great spirits.
People were happy and excited to finally have legal access to cannabis. Parking spaces filled up and gas stations were busier. More people stopped to buy something to eat that day, shopped locally and spent more on other consumer goods aside from cannabis. This is an excellent example of how legal cannabis sales benefit local economies. Since recreational cannabis is now available for adults 21 and up in New Mexico, cannabis tourism will no doubt explode in this beautiful state.
Hundreds of people lined up outside of R. Greenleaf Dispensary waiting for the doors to open at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Just down the street from El Paso, Texas cannabis dispensaries in Sunland, New Mexico opened their doors at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. While many people are excited about recreational cannabis in New Mexico, cannabis products purchased in New Mexico are required by law to remain within state lines. People from Texas and other neighboring states are allowed to come and purchase cannabis in New Mexico, but they are not allowed to take it back home with them.
Despite Texas’ close proximity to a newly legal state, it continues to support cannabis prohibition. However, there is certainly hope for change in Texas. A new era of politicians is starting to surface in the Lone Star State. Politicians like representative Veronica Escobar of El Paso are showing support for ending cannabis prohibition. Representative Escobar showed her support for the MORE Act in a tweet saying, “Black, Latino, and Indigenous people have carried the brunt of marijuana criminalization for too long. Today I’m proud to vote in favor of the #MOREAct to decriminalize marijuana, reform our outdated cannabis laws, and begin to repair the harm of discriminatory drug policy.”
Hopefully, Texas will join the rest of America and end cannabis prohibition soon. In the meantime, if you’re heading over to New Mexico to explore their cannabis scene there are a few things to know. Recreational cannabis sales are only legal for adults 21 years of age and up with valid state-issued ID. Consuming cannabis in public is still prohibited. Unless you are in a designated consumption area, public consumption can land you a fine of up to $50. When it comes to what you can purchase, adults with valid ID are allowed to buy up to 2 ounces of cannabis flowers or buds, 16 grams of cannabis concentrates or 800 milligrams of edibles in one transaction.
Amounts above this are allowed to be stored inside of a private residence as long as this storage is not viewable from a public place. Residents 21 years of age or older in the state of New Mexico can now grow a maximum of 12 cannabis plants per household. Up to six plants can be mature or in the flowering stage and up to six plants can be in the germination or vegetation stage. The cannabis industry in the state of New Mexico will be monitored by the Cannabis Control Division.
The Cannabis Regulation Act allowed New Mexico the option of regulating cannabis sales through its regulation and licensing department. If you would like to read more information on the regulations and rules in New Mexico established by the Cannabis Control Division regarding plant limits, licensing requirements and more; you can do so here.
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