New Mexico regulators say 31 cannabis companies are ‘noncompliant’

The recreational cannabis industry in New Mexico is barely six months old, but regulators say there are already more than two dozen companies that are not complying with state regulations.

Local TV station KRQE reported last week that the state’s Cannabis Control Department has conducted 100 inspections since adult-use cannabis began selling in April and found “31 businesses not in compliance.”

The station reported that the department’s inspectors “go out with a checklist and look for problems” and that the “list covers waste control, fire safety and ensuring businesses are taking safety measures.”

“Retailers don’t typically have such an extensive checklist because they don’t grow,” Andrew Vallejos, director of the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division, told KRQE.

According to the broadcaster, the state “hasn’t issued recreational marijuana licenses since it became legal,” and regulators aren’t punitive when it comes to inspections.

“One of the reasons for the suspension; is when companies don’t enter their product into the state’s seed-to-sale software,” KRQE reported. “Plants are being tracked whether they are from New Mexico or out of state. But even when companies make mistakes with the rules, the goal is to get them back on track.”

But according to the broadcaster, New Mexico officials “plan to hire two more compliance officers” because the “cannabis inspection department currently has eight compliance officers to inspect 478 businesses that have recreational marijuana licenses.”

New Mexico legalized recreational cannabis for adults in 2021 when Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation into law.

“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic engine in our state with the promise of creating thousands of well-paying jobs for years to come,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement at the time. “We will increase consumer safety by creating a real industry. We will begin to right the past wrongs of this country’s failed drug war. And we will be breaking new ground in an industry that could change New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”

Adult cannabis sales officially began on April 1 of this year, with opening weekend sales topping $3 million.

In July, adult-use cannabis sales in New Mexico surpassed $40 million, setting a new record for the state’s nascent recreational cannabis market.

“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 at the time. “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.”

When she signed the legalization bill into law in 2021, Lujan Grisham presented the measure as a potential economic boon for a state still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic like many others.

“As we try to recover from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to start lucrative new businesses, the state and local governments will benefit from the additional revenue and, more importantly, workers will benefit from the opportunity to find new types of jobs and build careers,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

“This legislation is a big, big step forward for our state,” the governor continued. “Legalized adult-use cannabis will change the way we think about New Mexico for the better—our workforce, our economy, our future. We are ready to break new ground. We are ready to invest in ourselves and the limitless potential of the New Mexicans. And we are ready to work to make this industry successful.”