Cannabis sales in New Mexico hit $40 million in July

State officials in New Mexico announced this week that sales of regulated cannabis surpassed $40 million in July, setting a new record since legal sales of recreational cannabis began in the state earlier this year. The Cannabis Control Division of the Regulation and Licensing Division found that the number exceeded the monthly purchases of regulated cannabis recorded each month since April, when licensed recreational cannabis sales began in the state.

In July, licensed retailers across New Mexico reported cannabis sales in excess of $40 million, with adult-use cannabis sales topping $23 million alone. Cannabis sales topped $39 million in April, the first month of legalized recreational sales and the state’s all-time high, with April adult sales totaling just over $22 million. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the numbers show a strong market for regulated recreational marijuana is emerging in the state.

“These numbers show that the impressive sales achieved in the first month of legalized recreational cannabis sales were no fluke — and this is just the beginning,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement from the governor’s office on Thursday. “We have built a new industry that is already generating millions of dollars in revenue at the local and state levels and will continue to generate millions more in economic activity across the state, creating thousands of jobs for New Mexicans in communities small and large.”

State officials found that the heaviest cannabis sales were reported in New Mexico’s most densely populated areas, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hobbs and Rio Rancho. Albuquerque saw the highest cannabis sales in the state, with combined adult-use and medical marijuana purchases topping $14 million in July. Santa Fe was next in line, with total sales of just under $3.5 million last month. Sunland and Hobbs, two cities on the Texas border where recreational cannabis is still illegal, each recorded more than $1 million in adult cannabis sales.

New cannabis products help increase sales

Rusty Poe, the manager of Sol Cannabis in Las Cruces, told local media that sales at his store continue to increase.

“Sales have actually been steadily increasing for us, the more product we bring in the more sales we have,” Poe said, noting that new items on the dispensary menu, including cannabis-infused beverages and edibles, have helped boost sales growth.

Executive Director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, Ben Lewinger, said the state’s cannabis sales were a victory for New Mexico and its growing industry.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my home state,” said Lewinger. “The Cannabis Regulation Act presented a seemingly impossible timeline to build a brand new cannabis industry for adult use, but here (we) are – four months after legal cannabis for people over 21 and we have record sales, not just for through use Adults but also our popular medicinal cannabis program. …Best of all, no city or county deserves credit for this achievement — the industry will continue to grow across the state.”

Since the regulated sale of adult-use cannabis began in April, dispensaries have raked in more than $88 million in recreational pot sales. The Cannabis Control Division releases sales figures monthly, with data available at the beginning of each month for the previous month.

Soaring sales of adult-use cannabis in New Mexico are a boon to the state’s coffers and cannabis industry. New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department spokesman Charlie Moore said cannabis use tax returns in June totaled nearly $2.5 million. The amount of the tax generated by the sale of cannabis in July will be released by the agency at the end of August.